I am not above a little "outside-the-envelope" spending. I've been wanting to get some essentials at Sam's Club for a few days. Trouble is, I can't seem to amass an extra seventy bucks in my grocery envelope.
Oh, I'm staying well below the $70 allotted per week, and there's always a little left over each week; this week I spent only $45 at the store. But just as I was well on my way to a Sam's Club cache, I found out the Gala apples are starting to ripen. So we made a trip to Rasa's Orchard. By the time I bought ten pounds of #1 apples, a watermelon, and two butternut squashes, my little "extra" grocery money was really little.
Then Amber came to spend the night last night, and I got the urge for pizza. So I took $5 from the grocery envelope and $7 from the "fun" envelope to cover that.
There's some occasional money that comes rolling in from another source besides Cliff's job, and tonight was the night. Normally it goes in the bank and is used for some good purpose. You know, like into the savings account, or onto the principle of our home loan. But the oldest granddaughter was here, and a little demon on my shoulder started whispering, "You could go to Sam's Club with some of that money; Amber is here to take you."
I struggled briefly, then said to myself, "Cliff isn't retired yet; what the heck!"
On the plus side, I only spent the $70 I intended to spend. On the minus side, I told Amber if she wanted something from a fast-food place, I'd treat her, as long as it wasn't too pricey. So that was another five bucks.
Cliff is going to have a ball with this: "Oh, you didn't use money from the envelope? I thought we were sticking to the envelope plan."
I can hear him now.
I foresee another little problem with the envelopes. After weeks of adding to the funds in each one and only using out of certain ones, I realize how much money I have in all those envelopes, combined. We've never kept that kind of cash in reserve. I think the little demon is going to have a blast with that.
Get thee behind me, satan.
Ha ha you had me rolling in laughter with this entry!! Let us know how this system continues to work out for you. I tried the envelope system years ago and it just didn't work for me but I hope it works out for you all the same. Of course I was really young then and not as disciplined with money as I am now. Might work for me nowdays. I am very strict with every penny. Well, most of the time... ha ha!!
ReplyDeleteLisa in Kentucky
Arggghhhhh...$70 per week for groceries? I spend between $150-$200. I'll be SO happy when I can get our bill down to a reasonable level, once the grandboys are off to school and I no longer care for them. I buy tons of juice, milk, and diapers. Thank goodness formula is no longer in the picture...that was an extra $23 each week. But at least I can claim it all on our taxes at the end of the year so that's the only 'good' that makes forking over that much money easier to swallow.
ReplyDeleteNot a bad way to budget, and it sounds like you are doing well with it. Why not clean out the extra from the envelopes and stick it in a savings account at the end of each month to accumulate interest?
ReplyDeleteBarbara, that would work for the grocery envelope, and also for the "Fun" envelope, unless we wanted to save up for a vacation. However, the doctor and meds envelope needs to have extra in it; Lipitor and Niaspan aren't generic and insurance doesn't pay much on them, so every 90 days we have a huge pharmacy bill. I want there to be cash for that when the time comes. We don't spend a lot on clothes, but the amount I put into that envelope weekly is small. If Cliff needs a pair of overalls, it's more than $30. If I need a bra... well, you get the picture. We have agreed if that envelope gets to more than $300, we'll put anything over that amount in savings.
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