Tried envelope budgeting for 3 months after rolling my eyes at it forever.

I started last October after I overdrafted my checking account for the third time that year, and honestly I came out $350 ahead by January. Has anyone else had a system they thought was overhyped but ended up working?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_betty8d ago

Honestly, I get the eye rolling. It sounds way too simple to actually work, right? But the thing that made it click for me was realizing the envelopes aren't magic. They just show you exactly where your money is disappearing to. If you're only saving $350, it means your spending wasn't that out of control to begin with. For people who are genuinely bleeding cash every month, the envelope system forces you to see the hole you're pouring money into. Have you tried tweaking the categories to better match your actual habits?

karenc208d ago

Is this like actually supposed to be a flex? $350 in three months sounds like you just stopped buying coffee and eating out, not some life changing budgeting breakthrough. I mean sure, it's nice to have extra cash, but calling it a "system" that "worked" feels like a stretch. People act like envelope budgeting is the secret to world peace or something. Realistically, you just put cash in envelopes and ran out of money to spend. Hardly groundbreaking stuff here.

miaprice8d ago

Eh, it's still more than you saved doing nothing.