Wednesday, January 10, 2018

Monthly Spending Envelope System

Everyone knows I'm really good at saving money - but I'm also really good at spending money.

Image result for saving money funny quotes

Today I'm going to show you how to create a simple and easy envelope system for tracking your monthly spending. Things like groceries, gas, shopping etc. I am starting off this new year being better with my money and this is for sure going to help me.

I found this system years ago on Pinterest (I cannot find the original pin for the life of me!) and utilized it once upon a time. It worked very well for me, that is, until I stopped using it.

*Something to note first - we use credit for pretty much everything and then pay it off every month. That way we can take advantage of cashback rewards. When I'm using this envelope system, I am not using cash but you totally can

So here's how my envelope system works:

After writing down our monthly expenses that won't change (mortgage, utilities, cable, etc) we came up with a number that we need to keep our monthly spending to. This includes spending for things like gas, groceries, co pays, eating out, etc. I took our monthly number and divided it by 4.33 (52 weeks divided by 12 to get the average since some months have more weeks than others)

That number is my amount I get to spend each week.

Now it's time to grab your envelope (I prefer business letter size) and at the top (if placing sideways) write down the month and year.


Then, divide it into 4 sections for 4 weeks (doesn't have to be perfect, clearly mine isn't) and write each week in it's section




So let's just say my number is $300 - I will write that into each weekly box at the top. Now for every purchase I make in each week, I will need to write it down and keep track.


After each purchase, I make sure to stick the receipt into my envelope (which I keep in my purse) and when I get home, I record the amount and stick the receipt inside. This is also super helpful because now my receipts for the entire month will be in one spot!! (also make sure to record any online purchases!)



If at the end of each week there is money left, you can choose to either roll that into the next week, or save it. I will probably do a little of both :) At the end of each month, I file the envelope away and again, if I need to ever go back to a certain month and find a receipt, it's all there.


So what do you think? Good idea? For me, this is something I need to do to stay accountable and mindful of my spending.





*linking up with Jessi's Design



19 comments:

  1. This is brilliant! Anyway to save money that is doable is so awesome!

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  2. That's so smart and such a good accountability tool!

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  3. This is such a smart idea! Thanks for sharing!

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  4. This is so cool! I have heard of the envelope system before, but I feel like you just explained it and made it 100 times easier than other stuff I have read. Love the idea that you keep your receipts all in the envelope. Totally going to try and implement this!

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  5. This is awesome - and very similar to Dave Ramsey's envelope system :) Ryan and I used this a LOT last year, and it really helped!

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  6. Very organized! I always lose receipts so I like stores that store them through your credit card, but I love the idea of keeping them in one place like this. Also it is smart to budget how much you spend. I am pretty bad at doing that!

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  7. I'm doing this, too! I don't have the pin to share but it's from Jordan Page at Fun Cheap or Free so it's probably on her blog somewhere! And there's a YouTube video I found it from :)

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  8. Dude, this is brilliant! B and I are watching our money very closely as well now and I'm totally going to implement some version of this system for us. I want to make sure we stay within our budget but I also want to be able to buy a shirt if I love it, ya know?

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  9. This is a great idea and would keep me more accountable on my expenses.

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  10. This is genius! We really need to do this. Thanks for the helpful tips!!

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  11. That's a great idea! My husband and I spend way too much money on things that we don't really need!

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  12. This is such a great idea! We are really trying to save this year so I am definitely going to try and implement this.

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  13. I know lots of people who do a cash envelope system, but this seems so much easier.

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  14. Oh my gosh! I love this! I'm doing this today! Stat!

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  15. I LOVE this system! I have tried the envelope system in the past and I really like how you split your envelopes into weeks and keep track. Such a great way to keep track of spending! Thanks for sharing!

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  16. What a great idea. I love that it stores your receipts and keeps track of expenses without using an actual cash system. Great tip!

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