My envelope system for groceries turned into a month long math puzzle

Everyone says cash envelopes are the best way to stick to a food budget, but I found the opposite. I set aside $400 cash for the month, thinking it would be simple. The problem was tracking what I actually spent it on. I'd buy chicken, veggies, and toilet paper all in one trip, then have to guess how much was food versus household stuff. I spent hours every Sunday trying to split receipts and figure out what was left in my 'grocery' envelope. It took me a full month and about 15 hours of my time to realize that for me, using my bank's app to just set a spending limit and check it was way faster. The old school cash method just made a simple thing way too hard. Has anyone else ditched the cash envelopes for something digital that actually worked?

2 comments

2 Comments

sanchez.blair17h ago

Yeah I tried the envelope thing for like two weeks and the receipt splitting drove me crazy. I just use a simple budget app now that tracks my card spending, way less headache.

michaeladams17h ago

Two weeks? I barely lasted two days with those envelopes.