You'd think the girl with the accountant mother would be better at handeling her money. Yeah...not so much. I try, but I just...can't seem to do it. Now that I'm a full fledged adult and everything (you know, getting married has a way of catapulting you into responsible adultdom) I have to try to learn to live by a budget. Because apparently, money doesn't grow on trees. ;)
I've tried to stick to one before, but for some reason it never sticks to me. I must not have a sticky personality. Or I just really suck at sticking to a budget.
I was cruising around some blogs the other night while I was fretting about money and came across some about managing your money. A lot of them recommended using a cash-only wallet system. I was intrigued (and the wallets that the blogs had featured were way cute too). There was a link to Dave Ramsey's envelope system. It's actually quite genius. You figure out your budget for the month (I've yet to find a nice budgeting program that I like and can actually use. Darn) take out the money you've budgeted and thats what you have to spend for the month. And once it's gone, it's gone. No more going to the ATM.
I don't know about you, but this really appeals to me. I'm the kind of person that swipes her debit card too often. I rarely have cash with me. And I fall into the mental trap that spending by using my card isn't spending because it's not actual money. Even though it is. (I told you I was bad at managing money.) The idea of plopping down $40 in bills for something that I don't need is a lot harder when you see 2 twenties go straight out of your wallet. I think it's the visual impact of it. So I've decided to try the system for a few months to see how it works. I think it will really help me and allow me to stay within my budget and when T and I do get married, managing our money will be a whole lot easier.
I didn't like the idea of using boring plain envelopes and I didn't want to shell out a bunch of money for the already made cute ones I found on Etsy, so I found a really easy pattern for fabric envelopes. I haven't made them quite yet, but I have a few days off next week and I'm planning on getting them. I figure I could make like 5 or 6 of them from a yard of fabric, which is relatively inexpensive to being with.
1 comment:
I took a money management class as part of my minor and we talked a TON about budgeting and Dave Ramsey. I think the envelope system is great. We've tried it in variation before (like just for date night or entertainment). Some people live and die by Dave Ramsey. I never budgeted before I got married, but we still struggle with it almost 3 years in to marriage. I think the biggest thing is just staying on top of what you spend (where the envelope system may be great). I'm sure you'll find a combination of things that work best for you.
p.s. Those envelopes are super cute!
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