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ccharles t1_je2nx1f wrote

Reply to comment by kzlife76 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

So for the rest of us... envelope system=what?

Looks like "cash your paycheque, put some into an envelope for bills, some into an envelope for entertainment, etc., repeat until you're out of cash">?

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kzlife76 t1_je2ohn4 wrote

The envelope system is a method of budgeting where you have envelopes with categories written on them. You put a certain amount of cash in each envelope. So one for entertainment, one for restaurants, one for groceries, etc. When the envelope is empty, you are out of money for that category until the next paycheck or month, depending on your budgeting cycle.

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lunaticloser t1_je3wu69 wrote

Ok maybe I'm too European to understand this but why would you pay a business money to help you put your money in envelopes Couldn't you like... Buy 1000 envelopes or whatever and do it yourself?

I'm really really just confused about the business model here. Are they financial advisors? Are they a company that sells envelopes? I've never heard of anything like this hence the confusion.

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bohemianish t1_je3xrjr wrote

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.

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lunaticloser t1_je3xvx4 wrote

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

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Fax_a_Fax t1_je5l8y5 wrote

Yes thank you, none of this was obvious at all

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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 $.

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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.

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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?

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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.

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EmeraldHawk t1_je58dro wrote

From the article:

>she turned cash stuffing into a business — Baddies and Budgets — through which she sells money courses, budgeting supplies and other accessories.

Her website literally does sell physical envelopes. She did not write a piece of software to help people budget.

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west0ne t1_je53jhk wrote

I assumed they were just posting their techniques on social media and YouTube and making money through advertising.

This isn't a new technique, my mom and grandmother used to do this but they used old jam-jars, that was when people were paid weekly in cash and most purchases were made in cash.

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Mimicry2311 t1_je4psfu wrote

Maybe people who need an envelope system are not as fussy about spending money as you and I are ;D

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RabbitOfSpades t1_je58ph8 wrote

The article says that as she started gathering an audience from her envelope-stuffing techniques, she began making personalized embroidered money binders due to not many places make them.

Could you do this with just paper envelopes? Yes. But I think some folks respond better with fabric and plastic that just paper.

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Rabidowski t1_je5tbyx wrote

Selling stuff to people who want to save money. Brilliant!

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Mythulhu t1_je2yid9 wrote

Ohhhh. I did that with jars because of Gail Vaz-Oxlade on "Til Debt Do us Part" Super handy budgeting system.

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Unstuckmyselfat29 t1_je70v14 wrote

What kind of idiot needs this system?

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kzlife76 t1_je7az93 wrote

People without impulse control. There's a psychological reason behind why it works with physical money. Since you see how much you spend and how much you have left, you are more likely to think about purchases before making them. It also takes self discipline or an accountability partner.

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Unstuckmyselfat29 t1_je9eh79 wrote

So that’s why she’s obese, maybe she should do the same with her food.

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woahdude12321 t1_je69we7 wrote

This seems like another “avocado toast” piece. But good for her

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