Am I the only one who switched from cash envelopes to a plain notebook and saved $340 in two months? | Budgeting Wins - Freelance Forum - The Community for Independent Professionals
Am I the only one who switched from cash envelopes to a plain notebook and saved $340 in two months?
I tried the whole cash envelope system for about a year, and every time I pulled out a wad of bills for groceries I would lose track of where the change went, plus the bank teller in Tucson started giving me weird looks for asking for ones and fives every Friday. Last October I grabbed a $3 spiral notebook instead and started writing down every single purchase by hand, and something about seeing the number on paper made me stop and think before tapping my card. In two months I put $340 back in savings, which is more than I ever managed with envelopes because I stopped pulling cash out for stuff I did not really need. The weird part is I actually check the notebook now instead of dreading it, go figure. Anyone else find that the low tech version beats the fancy system?