My dad kept pushing the envelope method for groceries, and it finally clicked

I started putting $400 cash in an envelope each Friday and it cut my impulse buys by half. Anyone else have a simple trick that actually stuck?

3 comments

3 Comments

jade472mo agoMost Upvoted

My aunt does something similar but with her coffee habit. She leaves her debit card at home and only brings a ten dollar bill to work. If she wants a fancy latte, it has to come from that cash. She says it makes her really stop and ask if she needs it, because once the ten is gone, it's gone. It's funny how a physical limit works better than just seeing a number on your phone screen. The envelope thing seems like the same idea, just for a bigger part of your budget.

nora862mo ago

Wait, she only brings ten bucks for the whole day? That's wild to me. My coffee runs alone would blow through that before lunch. It really does show how a hard limit makes you think twice.

oscarwright1mo ago

Yeah that thing about the physical limit is so true. My buddy tried the cash only thing after his card got skimmed at a gas station. He said the weirdest part was watching his wallet get actually empty by Thursday, like a visual countdown. Made him cancel a whole guys night because he literally didn't have the paper bills, said it felt way more real than just another card swipe.