Unpopular opinion: I think cash stuffing is a waste of time for most people

I tried the cash envelope system for three months back in 2022 after seeing all those videos on TikTok. It was a mess - I lost one envelope with $60 in it and the grocery store clerk gave me strange looks when I paid with actual bills. I actually save more money now using a simple spreadsheet on my phone that takes two minutes to update. Has anyone else found that the old envelope method just doesn't work in a digital world?

3 comments

3 Comments

shane_hayes1mo ago

Got passed over for a promotion last year and realized that's exactly the trap too. It's like we treat everything like some complicated magic trick when the real answer is just doing the boring thing consistently. My buddy spent months trying to become a morning person with crystals and special alarms and blackout curtains but all he really needed was going to bed before midnight. The cash stuffers are selling you a system you're supposed to buy into, but spreadsheets and common sense don't make money for influencers. I think people get hooked on the ritual of organizing envelopes instead of just facing their spending habits directly.

charles6401mo agoProlific Poster

I used to be all in on that envelope system stuff. Bought the fancy cash binders and spent hours color coding my sinking funds every Sunday. Last year I finally added up my actual grocery spending and realized I was spending $40 a month just on the damn binder supplies and the cash envelopes themselves. That's $480 a year for a system that just made me feel organized instead of actually changing how I spent. Your buddy with the alarm clock and crystals hit close to home. I was doing the same thing, avoiding the real work by getting lost in the ritual.

sagecooper1mo ago

Resist the urge to buy your way out of uncomfortable habits... @charles640 that binder expense is a classic example of paying for the feeling of progress instead of actual change. The only tools that ever worked for me were a .99 cent notebook and a hard look at what I was spending my money on.