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That old trick of writing checks to myself actually worked
Back in 2012 I was terrible at saving, kept spending whatever hit my account. I started writing a check for $50 every Friday to a separate account and just forgetting about it, after 2 years I had $5,200 saved up for a trip to Portland. Has anyone else tried those old school envelope systems or is it all autosave apps now?
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noahpark5d agoTop Commenter
Oh wait, that math is off. 2 years at $50 per week is $5,200? That's actually $250 a month, so 24 months x $250 = $6,000. You must have missed some weeks or the interest was crap. But still, cool idea though, I like the "set it and forget it" approach. The envelope system is solid too if you're disciplined enough to not peek.
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jana_price5d ago
Right, the envelope system is really where it's at if you want to keep yourself honest. I've done it with cash for our grocery budget and it STOPS me from tossing extra things in the cart because once that envelope is empty, that's it. But you're absolutely right about peeking - I keep mine in a little lockbox in the closet so I'm not tempted to "borrow" from next week's envelope when I overspend. That physical act of counting out the bills makes the money feel more real than just swiping a card, too.
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