We made it. For
fun, we spent the last month going back to using the envelope system to help
stay on budget. The theory is that having a personal relationship with each
dollar spent increases the likelihood that you will not pithier it away.
I had been in
the habit of charging at least three coffees a day against my next month’s payroll
check. Running between meetings, it easy to have the barista swipe my staff ID
badge to keep caffeinated. This habit comes to $8.00/day or $160.00/month or $1,920/year.
Think of what I could do with an extra
$2,000?
Having to draw
the dollar bills out of my envelope and slide them across the counter was much
more painful than I thought it would be. Many times, my previous cup of coffee was not
yet empty, just cold. For two bucks, I’m ok with nuking it for 30 seconds. When drawing your spending money out of an envelope,
there is much more a sense that money is a finite resource, not an endless
stream. It now feels very irresponsible to throw out cold coffee.
Waste not. Want
not. Thank you envelope.
No comments:
Post a Comment