My cash envelope plan beat my budgeting app by a mile, and I'm still surprised
I tried a budgeting app for 7 months and it felt like I was doing great, but my card balance kept dropping. Then in January I switched to plain cash envelopes for groceries and going out, and I had $340 left over at the end of that first month. The app let me log stuff after I spent it, so I was just watching the damage. The envelopes made me stop before I spent, because once the grocery money was gone, it was gone. I keep $120 in the food envelope each week and the rest stays home in a drawer. There's something about handing over bills that makes me pause in a way tapping my phone never did. My app is now just for bills and rent. Has anyone else gone back to cash for just one or two categories and stuck with it?