Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

bohemianish t1_je3xrjr wrote

Reply to comment by lunaticloser in 31-Year-Old Used Her $1,200 Stimulus Check to Start a ‘Cash Stuffing’ Business—It’s on Track to Bring in $1 Million This Year by ChickenXing

Two options:

Buy envelopes, write the category names on them, store cash in them. Very DIY.

Pay for budgeting software/app that offers the digital equivalent of envelopes. Still DIY to a degree because you have to set up and maintain the categories, with the added benefit of not having to deal with cash.

26

lunaticloser t1_je3xvx4 wrote

Oh so this person created a digital business? That makes more sense, oke. Thanks :)

36

Fax_a_Fax t1_je5l8y5 wrote

Yes thank you, none of this was obvious at all

6

kfadffal t1_je40ey1 wrote

Can you not just open new accounts? Here in NZ I just have multiple different accounts that are labeled pretty much like these envelopes. On pay day a whole bunch of automatic transfers suck money into each one of those accounts. No need for custom software and it costs zero $.

4

kzlife76 t1_je4uz5c wrote

I don't know if any banks in the US offer this. My bank does have a checking/savings account that has a "reserve" account that can be used to separate money. It's like having 3 accounts. But this wouldn't really be a good envelope system.

Personally, I like the zero dollar budget where you assign every dollar to a category. It's similar to the envelope system. When you run out of money in a category you stop spending on that category. Although my system has become more of an accounting system rather than a budgeting system since I just assign my monthly transactions to categories at the end of the month. It still helps me track what I'm spending money on. I'm fortunate enough to have 0 debt and a healthy income.

If you want to get started with a zero dollar budget, Dave Ramsey has a free app called Every Dollar. It's what I started on before moving to a custom spreadsheet.

1

kfadffal t1_je4vk0d wrote

Banking seems really weird in the US. I have 17 accounts for my budgeting and could open more if I wanted very easily online or via an app. Don't you guys also have some bullshit with bank transfers and stuff which is why things like Venmo exist?

0

kzlife76 t1_je4vsie wrote

Banking in the US feels like it's stuck in the 70s. Since banks have better online tools. That's about all we can do.

1