If you use an envelope system for money...

[Brilliant]

Can you tell me how it works in your home? I'm wondering about:

 

1. Categories that might not be spent in a month. For example, if I can spend $100 on clothing per month but only spend $70 this month...does the remaining $30 stay in the envelope so next month I get a great pair of boots for $130? ;)

 

2. Money that dh and I both have control over, such as dining out. Do I use 2 envelopes & split up the money and shuffle it during the month as necessary?

 

I'm just wondering about how this will actually work in our home. Dh and I have been budgeters for over 20 years, but have never had any way to put a hard limit on spending. It seems an empty envelope might be a hard limit. :)

[tots2teens]

We used an envelope system for several years & it really worked for us! To answer your questions...

1. Yes, what is left over in that category would just stay there for the next month.

2. I always carried the envelopes with me (actually, I used a coupon organizer thingy) so when we went out to eat, I would just pull the cash from the dining out pocket. For times when we were not together, we had our "own" spending money to use. So, if dh chose to go out to lunch during his workday, instead of bringing a lunch, that would come out of his own spending money.

[FLDebbie]

We used an envelope system for several years & it really worked for us! To answer your questions...

1. Yes, what is left over in that category would just stay there for the next month.

2. I always carried the envelopes with me (actually, I used a coupon organizer thingy) so when we went out to eat, I would just pull the cash from the dining out pocket. For times when we were not together, we had our "own" spending money to use. So, if dh chose to go out to lunch during his workday, instead of bringing a lunch, that would come out of his own spending money.

 

 

This sounds like what we do. We only use envelopes for groceries/household expenses and dining out. I keep the grocery money and my husband and I each have our own dining out money. It's done wonders for our spending in those two areas, which were the biggest areas where we needed to control our spending in our budget.

[Brilliant]

 

...We only use envelopes for groceries/household expenses and dining out. I keep the grocery money and my husband and I each have our own dining out money. It's done wonders for our spending in those two areas, which were the biggest areas where we needed to control our spending in our budget.

 

 

I'm reviewing our expenses for 2012 and we went NUTS this year in 2 categories - dining out & clothing. So those are the ones I'm trying to control. I wonder if I should skip the cash system for groceries since that's not an area we struggle with.

[Cynful]

I don't know if it would help, but if you have a smart phone or device, there are some envelope apps out there that might help. I think I even saw some software or something for your computer once but I don't remember exactly.

 

Good luck, we may try this next year too.

[Brilliant]

I don't know if it would help, but if you have a smart phone or device, there are some envelope apps out there that might help. I think I even saw some software or something for your computer once but I don't remember exactly.

 

Good luck, we may try this next year too.

 

 

thanks for that idea - Brilliant. I just found one on the Android market called EEBA (Easy Envelope Budget Aid) that has really good reviews. I think I'll give it a try.

[SebastianCat]

Make the envelope system work for YOU. So if you both need some "dining out" or "walking around" money, make an envelope for it. If you are generally both together when you eat out, leave it in one joint envelope.

 

Yes, in our system if there's money left in the envelope at the end of the month, it stays there and accumulates.

 

We also have separate envelopes for "Target/Walmart," "Home Depot/Lowes," and "Barbershop/Haircuts." Do what works, and what will help you both be accountable.

[Erica in OR]

We've been experimenting recently with leaving the money to build up in the envelope month to month versus taking all extra money out at the end of each month to save toward some special goal/goodie.

 

I agree with a previous poster—make it work how you want it. There is no one "right" way.

 

Erica in OR

[Hen]

we budget this way, except we don't have actual physical envelopes- those drove us crazy, dh does a big master excel spreadsheet. For items that we don't use all the money that month, yes we just roll it over and it accumulates. Sometimes dh might use the surplus to plug up another category we went over on, or if we keep having excess money then we change the allotment and make it lower. I've been planning on trying one of the apps, to keep track of accounts we both dip into, like Target, groceries.

[Annie G]

We use EEBA so it's virtual envelope, which makes it easier to share.

For some categories, we roll the money over- clothing is one that carries over since we tend to buy clothes only a couple times a year.

Groceries and gasoline- we don't roll those over, but what really happens is that when it's time to fund the grocery envelope, it's funded to the regular amount, not automatically adding a set amount. We budget $300 for food every two weeks- at the end of the period, I might have $70 left in the category, so I have EEBA add $230 so it's back to the regular amount. So the $70 that I didn't need to add to that envelope is thrown into another account, and can be used if something comes up that needs to be funded.

 

Finding what works for you is key to making this work. For us, not letting discretionary funds build up keeps us from spending unnecessarily. I usually have about 25% of my eating out money left every two weeks- I don't roll that over because I'd be tempted to eat out too often, which for me not only makes me feel ill but also makes it more difficult to get back in the habit of cooking and eating at home. But for other people, having a big eating out envelope actually KEEPS them from eating out because to them it's a challenge to see how much they can accumulate in that envelope. So it's all what works for you.