I get it all the time…the weird looks when I pull out my cash envelope system and root through my FUN envelope.   I do it before I agree to any plans with anyone. 

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A Look at My Filofax Budget Envelope System

This post was originally posted in 2014 but gets updated yearly.

If you're already working on fixing your finances (whether it's from by being on a budget post or my book), you're likely feeling motivated to create a spending system that works for you.  This is key to taking control of your spending by using cash and finding a way to keep it organized. I've shown off my original Filofax Budget Envelope System and I want to give you the tips to make your own!

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My Filofax Budget Envelope System

Do you remember when I featured my guide to being on a budget? One of the things I explained was how to create an envelope system for your different spending categories so you can use cash only and track where every dollar goes. I've been using that system for years now and it has been working like a charm! I find that every time I open my cash envelope system at a store, the cashier always tells me what a great idea it is and asks me how I did it. Thanks to all those compliments and questions, I decided to put together a post showing off how I made my envelope system. Enjoy!

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3 Benefits of a Clothing Fund in Your Budget

If you haven’t even thought of controlling your spending through an envelope system,  it’s not too late to start.  Just because you are on a budget doesn’t mean you can’t buy anything for yourself.  When I originally wrote about it in My Guide to Being on ABudget  I made sure to explain that one of my expenses I allow myself each month is clothing.

Using a clothing envelope has many benefits:

It forces you to plan your spending.

If you only get $100 for each season, you will pretty much map out where you wanna go and what you need to buy that your wardrobe lacks.     Think about it….have you ever bought multiples of the same type of shirt or jeans?   If you only have a certain amount available to spend, you are much more likely to skip over that nice black tshirt, considering you already have 3 at home.  You would much rather spend your money on something you don’t have.

You will make smarter spending decisions. Instead of buying those $80 shoes, you’ll notice that you start looking for the best deal on a particular style of shoes.   This means less impulse buys.

You will use coupons.

Next time you see a coupon for 20% off an item from your favorite department store, you are more likely to take advantage of it and really think before you decide what item to spend it on.

Have you started using a clothing envelope yet?

How to Budget for Unexpected Expenses

The funny thing about this post is that once you get to the bottom of it, you'll see that there ARE no unexpected expenses if you budget wisely! 

Last week I asked my Twitter followers what unplanned and unexpected expenses always end up coming up and throwing off their budget and finances.  It’s quite awesome actually the responses I got, because each one has an easy solution, that I’ve already been doing…. The truth is there really is NO unexpected expenses if you budget for them, and here’s how I do it.

The responses on Twitter included Vet bills, House Repairs, and Car Maintenance.

That’s why in my envelope system, I put $20 away to each, from every paycheck.

If you put $20 away every 2 weeks, in 3 months you’ll have $120 in one of the 3 envelopes.  Can I just tell you it’s an amazing feeling when I realize my windshield wipers need replaced, because I no longer think “Oh crap, do I have money in the budget for them and when will I be able to buy them?”

Now I just look in my envelope, and grab the amount I need.

This also acts as a mini savings per category, so that you don’t have to tap into your main emergency fund as often.  

So, when you go to do your envelope categories, as discussed in my Budget Blog Post, you can think of what things have thrown your finances off in the past (do you tend to get flat tires often? That’s what the car envelopes for!) and then add that as a category.