Shoutout to the envelope system for finally making me stop guessing on groceries

I used to just ballpark my grocery budget every month and hope for the best, usually overshooting by like $60 to $80. My neighbor from the unit upstairs told me she pulls out cash for categories every payday and when it's gone, it's gone. I tried it last month with $250 in an envelope for food only, nothing else. The first week I had to skip buying fancy cheese because I was running low, and that stung a little. But by the end of the month I had $12 left over for the first time in ages. It forced me to actually plan meals around what was on sale instead of grabbing whatever looked good. Anyone else had a similar experience with sticking to cash for a specific category?

2 comments

2 Comments

taylor_patel1mo ago

Wait, did you find yourself skipping more than just the fancy cheese? Like, were there days you actually ran out of cash and had to make do with pantry stuff? I got curious about that when I tried it for gas money last year. My envelope was gone by the 20th once and I had to carpool with a coworker for a week. It really makes you rethink what's a "need" versus a "want" when you can feel the envelope getting light. Did it change how you shop for non-food stuff too or was it just groceries?

david1231mo ago

Honestly, did you find yourself meal prepping way more than usual just to stretch that cash? Tbh, I had a similar thing happen but with my entertainment budget. I set aside $40 for movies and eating out, and by the third week I was out of cash so I ended up going to a free museum exhibit I'd been putting off for like a year. It was actually pretty cool and I wouldn't have done it if I wasn't forced to. Ngl, it's wild how your brain just adapts when you can't swipe a card for a backup.