My envelope system went rogue and saved me $40 on takeout

So I started using cash envelopes for dining out, but I kept forgetting which envelope was for what. Last Tuesday I grabbed the wrong one, thought it was empty, and cooked a sad pasta at home instead. Turns out that envelope had an extra $40 I'd forgotten about from last month. Has anyone else's own disorganization ever accidentally worked in their favor?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_drew29d ago

Wait, have you ever had that moment where you discover your own messy system actually saved you money? That's hilarious and also kind of genius. I've done the same thing with my "fun money" envelope, I just grabbed it without looking and ended up putting $30 into savings by accident. The trick is to actually label the envelopes with different colors or stickers so you don't mix them up, but then again, that's the whole point of this happy accident. Your system works fine if it keeps you from spending, just roll with it and maybe keep that hidden cash as a little emergency fund for when you actually want takeout.

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robinson.matthew29d ago

Yeah my buddy Dave told me he found like forty bucks in an old jacket pocket he forgot about. He just grabbed it for a coffee run and ended up treating himself to a whole nice lunch instead. Sometimes the messy system works out better than the organized one.