I think my new money ideas will work!
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I think my new money ideas will work!
| Mon, 01-09-2006 - 1:32pm |
Well for the new year, one thing I decided to do was to withdraw all my spending money, transit money (for commuting to work), and gas money in cash on payday. I was using my debit card alot, and while I was keeping track of it, it was easier to justify spending a little more than I budgeted.
So what I do is withdraw the money in cash, spend what I need, and if I have any cash leftover I'm putting it into an envelope that I've put aside for desperately needed new work clothes. It's helping me spend less money on things I don't need, like going out to eat, because I have a savings goal in mind. It's only January 9th and I already have $22 in my clothing fund.
Yeay!
Just thought my idea my help someone else.
Cheryl

This is what I do too! I write 6 checks per month for bills and put gas on the debit card. Everything else comes from my cash that I get each payday and put into envelopes. When the cash is gone, I'm done until payday. I have the following envelopes:
Week 1 Groceries
Week 2 Groceries
Week 1 misc & entertainment
Week 2 misc & entertainment
And I have a Christmas cash jar that I use to save up for Christmas by putting $10 into each paycheck. If I absolutely need something, I dip into the Christmas cash and then pay it back the next paycheck. I also put all of my silver change into a jar and dip into that. There's about $90 in change in there right now. That's about a year and a half of saving change.
When you go to cash, you really have a sense of where you're spending. And I like having cash on hand in the house.
That's so cool that you already have $22. You've motivated me to try this starting with our next paycheck. I'm going to do this with our spending and food money. We spend a whole lot on eating out and buying stuff at the grocery store that would be cheaper if I just made it at home. We want to go on a cruise for our anniversary next year so maybe getting our downpayment for our reservations will be motivation enough.
Thanks so much for sharing!!!!!
Cristin
I still pay all my bills online, just because it's faster and I hate sending checks!