I struggled my whole life with budgeting, and recently I stumbled upon a great trick that also utilizes cash spending to stay on track. (I like cash, it’s that physical thing that helps the mind appreciate what’s happening, isn’t it?) We have a budget for various categories, and on payday we simply withdraw enough cash and divide it all into envelopes by category (except for the bills which we pay immediately online). When we want to spend money on a category, it comes out of the envelope! When the envelope is empty, end of story!

We do make some exceptions for using the debit card online, but we always reconcile everything with the cash envelopes. The only times we’ve spent outside the envelopes is when medical or safety issues came up. When we bought our car seat, for example, we had to put our “household/clothing/personal” envelope into debt.

Anywho, I could go into a whole post on the topic, but you get the gist, and maybe it will give you some ideas as you make revisions to your strategy! Good luck!

At hippie dippie bébé I’m focusing on DIY for frugal green living and voluntary simplicity, drop by anytime! Oh, and your story about hot water and vinegar: oh so frugal and oh so good for the planet too!