My method for cash
Since moving out of my parent’s house I have struggled with money. Finding enough money to pay rent or to buy food has been a challenge. I have two jobs and I know I have enough money coming in but I have often wondered where my money goes. I have tried many different ways to save money and for some reason nothing seemed to work, until I had a conversation with a friend of my mom’s. She told me how she has gone about budgeting. She told me that is had been a life saver and she and her husband don’t fight about finances anymore. They always have the money they need for bills groceries and etc. and not only do they have enough money for food but also for pleasure such as a nice dinner or Dave and Buster’s for the kids. I tried this new method and it has been amazing.
This is how it works:
After I receive each and every paycheck I pull out all of my money in cash or I cash my check. I divide the money into different envelopes such as rent, groceries, gas, miscellaneous , or savings. It took a month or two to find out how much money goes into each envelope so I didn’t have to borrow from other envelopes. Once I got the hang of it my life began to run much smoother because I didn’t have to worry about making my money last. I also found that I don’t spend as much because it’s much harder for me to pay with cash. When I swipe my card, I don’t think anything of it but when I see cash in my hands, I realize that it is my hard earned money I’m giving away which in turn makes me not want to spend it.
Alicia, sophomore, Biochemistry major