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My grandpa's envelope system taught me more about money than any app I've tried
When I got my first real job back in 2009, my grandpa sat me down at his kitchen table in Toledo and showed me his envelope system. He had 6 envelopes for rent, food, gas, fun, savings, and one he called "oops." He put $40 in the oops envelope each paycheck and said that's for when life happens and you didn't plan for it. I thought it was old school and kinda silly at the time. But I started doing the same thing with cash envelopes and it stopped me from blowing $300 on dumb stuff more times than I can count. Now I use a budgeting app but I still keep a $50 "oops" category because of him. Does anyone else still use cash envelopes or am I the only one stuck in the past?
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aaronroberts4h ago
Watched my buddy do almost the same thing after his divorce a few years back. He couldn't make apps work for him because the money felt fake on a screen, so he went full cash envelopes like your grandpa. His oops envelope was only $20 but he swore that little buffer kept him from putting gas on a credit card when his truck needed a quick fix. Last I heard he still does it and he's paid off two cards since then. Old school clearly still works for some people, no shame in it.
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