Am I the only one who figured out the envelope system works way better with cash?

Robin Roberts · 2026-06-27T00:15:25.027027+00:00

I was always bad at sticking to my budget because I'd swipe my card and just ignore the totals. Last month I tried pulling out $400 cash for groceries and eating out. Put it in envelopes. When the cash was gone, I just stopped spending. Ended up saving $60 that week. Anyone else have luck with cold hard cash?

jesse9943mo ago

I actually heard a financial guy on the radio (NPR maybe?) talk about how cash activates something in your brain called the "pain of paying" - like physically handing over bills makes you think twice before buying stuff. That's probably why the envelope thing works for people like us, you feel the money leaving your hand. I tried it with groceries too and ended up buying way less random snacks at checkout, which added up to like $15-20 a month extra saved.

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blake6913mo ago

Oh come on, it's just cash in envelopes. Not that deep.

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gavin_hill273mo ago

Credit cards give you better protection and rewards, cash just sits there earning nothing.

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