I remember when my grandma's envelope system actually worked in the 90s

Back in 1998, my grandma lived on a fixed income and used this beat up green tin box with 6 envelopes marked rent, food, gas, bills, savings, and fun. She'd pull out her Social Security check, cash it at the bank, then split the cash into those envelopes every single month. I saw her do it for 12 years until she passed in 2010. What got me thinking is how people talk about digital budgeting apps and spreadsheets now, but that simple envelope method kept her from ever missing a payment. She had exactly $37 left for fun each month, and she'd spend it on bingo or ice cream at the diner downtown. I tried doing the same thing with actual cash envelopes last year but I keep getting tripped up when online bills auto-draft from my checking account. Has anyone else had trouble mixing modern automatic payments with old school cash envelope systems?

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