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Remembering my aunt's envelope method from 1998
Back in 1998, my aunt June sat me down at her kitchen table in Toledo and showed me her cash envelope system. She had labeled envelopes for groceries, gas, and utilities, and she gave me $120 to split into my own set. Her rule was simple: when the envelope is empty, you stop spending. That one visit stuck with me more than any budgeting class I took later. I still use a version of that today, just with separate bank accounts instead of paper. Does anyone else carry a habit they learned from a family member decades ago?
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brian_ramirez6d ago
Cash envelopes don't fix the real problem, which is that most people run out of month before they run out of money. Your aunt's system only works if the money is actually there in the first place, and plenty of folks with $120 to spare still end up short when rent jumps.
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