Comments on: The Effective Simplicity of Budgeting by Envelopes

By: Dianne

Dianne — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 01:33:37 +0000

I, too have been using the budget envelope system for nearly 35 years and I was not aware that the Springfield Photo Mount Company had gone out of business.
My envelopes and getting old and I also need new ones. I would LOVE to know if any other companies make them or if anyone knows where I can find them. It’s a great system!

By: Norma Horvath

Norma Horvath — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 02:20:57 +0000

I have been using the budget envelope method for almost forty years. I have a wonderful Budget Envelope Book containing ten budget envelopes. However, my book is falling apart and I can’t find a new one anywhere. It was made by the Springfield Photo Mount Company in Holyoke, Mass. 01040. Apparently, they are out of business. The book is 4″ x 7″ and contains ten envelopes. It is the greatest! Does anyone know where I can find another Budget Envelope book?

By: Luke

Luke — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 19:38:28 +0000

The envelope system is fantastic, I’ve used it myself for years. But like some of the other commenters, I’ve been hesitant to carry around all that cash. So I use my debit card and track it all virtually on a website I created called NeoBudget (http://www.neobudget.com).

By: emergency cash

emergency cash — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 22:24:10 +0000

I just love using the envelope system. For some reason it helps keep me on track when I can see the money put away for certain expenses right in front of me.

By: fabmoneylife

fabmoneylife — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 16:29:30 +0000

I’ve been hearing about the “envelope system” for quite some time now, and I think it’s a great idea. I would probably lean more towards using a virtual envelope system, such as a putting a certain amount in a debit card account and using that for the allotted time period. Cash would be rather difficult to track and trend.

By: Zinc oxide

Zinc oxide — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 13:22:56 +0000

I use an excel sheet to maintain my daily expenses.

By: Sacha Chua

Sacha Chua — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:46:11 +0000

I use a virtual envelope system that lets me keep money in bank accounts and virtual money in virtual envelopes. =) I mapped my financial network and described the process on my blog. The tool I use to keep track of the envelope balances is super-geeky, but you'd probably be able to do something similar with a spreadsheet or a notebook.

By: Andrea (Recession Proof Living)

Andrea (Recession Proof Living) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:47:36 +0000

I know what you mean about not wanting to carry a lot of cash. One way to deal with this is to fill your envelopes weekly instead of monthly. That way if (God forbid) you lose your Entertainment envelope, you’re only out the money for one week’s worth of entertainment.

We found weekly budgeting to be more effective anyway, because it kept us from blowing through a whole month’s worth of money the first week.

By: AK

AK — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 02:50:35 +0000

I did this while I was in college and it worked really well! It does curb spending habits… the only this is that I got a little bit nervous with all that cash around.

For people who don’t have time to track all their little purchases online or in a spreadsheet, this is a great idea.