Testimony from Aliesha of Feathers In Our Nest
When my husband and I were first married, we didn’t have a set grocery budget. It wasn’t until we started running into problems that we realized we needed to do something different.
There were weeks where I would spend a little too much on groceries and then we would be tight in other areas, and there were other weeks where, because money was tight, I didn’t have much (or any) money to spend on groceries until the next pay check.
My husband and I came up with a plan. Every week when he deposited his paycheck, he withdrew our weekly grocery money ($50). I placed this cash in an envelope, kept it in my wallet, and used it to buy groceries. If any was leftover, I kept it in the envelope and it rolled over to the next week.
The first few weeks were scary! What if I got up to the register and didn’t have enough cash? (Sometimes I shopped with a calculator just to make sure!) It always worked out just fine, though, and we discovered some great benefits to our new cash envelope plan!
- Instead of overspending, I now have a budget that I need to stay within, which helps me be a better steward of our family’s resources.
- Even if money is tight towards the end of the pay period, I am still able to buy groceries since we withdrew the money as soon as we got our pay check.
- I can shop at the time it is most convenient for me, not just right after pay day.
- Anytime I have extra grocery money, I can save it for the next week so I can stock up on a sale item or a great markdown.
- If I am able to skip a week of shopping (eating out of the pantry/freezer), I can save up for larger purchases, such as 50 lbs. of wheat or other bulk foods.
Currently, I have a good amount of money in our grocery cash envelope since I’ve been keeping our weekly budget significantly under $50. This will allow me to buy groceries for a big freezer cooking day and to stock up on holiday sale items (November and December are great months to buy pantry staples).
We have been using the cash envelope system for groceries successfully since January 2012!
It has worked so well that we have also started cash envelopes for several other funds and budget line items. In the near future, we hope to move to an exclusive cash envelope system for everything!
Aliesha is a stay-at-home wife and mom with three precious blessings ages three and under. Her blog home is Feathers In Our Nest, where she writes about family, ministry, food, and frugal living. Aliesha loves to read, shop thrift stores, drink coffee, and cook for her “foodie” husband.
Does that $50/week include things like laundry soap, dish soap, garbage bags, diapers, personal heigine things (shampoo, toothpaste) etc or is that a different envelope? If that’s another envelope, can I ask how much you budget for those kinds of things?
We have been using the cash envelope system for a couple years and it sure has helped me!!! I was spending so much more with using my debit card. I made some cloth envelopes that simply LOVE as they are way easier to keep in good condition.
Good for you getting published on Moneysavingmom Aliesha!
We used a cash envelope system for several months, and it was wonderful! It was very helpful in allowing us to not overdraw on our bank account, but we still weren’t able to save anything. Not a single dime!
Every penny of every paycheck had a designation, and rarely did we have overflow!
We gave up after four months, because we felt like it was more stressful to count every penny than it had been before hand, and we were still behind on things!
But, this reminds me of how “in charge” I felt of the situation, and how since then – we’ve made a LOT of budget-cuts/money saving changes (switched to netflix, switched to no-contract phones, cut out the kids’ gymnastics class 🙁 , and moved to a house that doesn’t leak air in all the windows and is much more insulated, etc.)
I think it may be time for the envelopes again! And I love love love the pretty ones you made! How simple, too! Anything that makes saving money feel more stylish than it already is is fantastic!
This is so awesome…I was just thinking of this for my beau and I, and I looooove this idea! I think it will be very helpful for us as well. I’m horrible with money, so I leave it all for my hubby!
My husband and I started doing something similar a few months ago. It has worked great for us because with cash we really think about what we’re buying, and we don’t over spend. We’ve actually saved by using the “old fashioned” cash, and usually have money that rolls over into the next week. When we were using our debit cards, we ran to the store all the time and never thought about it. Great post!
Hi Aliesha! It looks like we have a lot in common! I also had 3 children 3-and-under (until the oldest turned 4 in July), my husband also does full-time youth ministry, and my youngest brother just started classes at Liberty University this fall. After trying cash last year, I started using Mvelopes this year, and am now budgeting successfully. I’d like to try a big freezer cooking day too. Your blog looks really nice. Keep up the good work!
This is really encouraging! I need to do this as my grocery budget has kind of gone by the wayside lately 🙁
We use envelopes for all our bills that are not paid on preset dates buy our card. Groceries, Gas, and Weekly Fund. When the weekly fund is gone (ANY misc costs – dinner out, presents, entertainment) we do free stuff until next payday. Helps me plan out the activities we really WANT and PLAN to do, vs running through Burger King drive through and blowing it. The kids have really caught onto that and will ask if we can get a ice cream cone when they are 50 cents, but not when they are $5. But I do tend to take hte leftover grocery money and put it into the Weekly envelope. Think I will keep it in the grocery and try that. Thanks.
Thanks. This was an inspiring post. I like the idea of setting an actual dollar amount to stick to instead of my current practice of trying to spend as little as possible.
Amazing. What helps me is the 99 cent store! I sometimes find ofganic produce there!’infind 18 pack of large eggs for 1 .99 a bag of splee that is regularly 3.99 I get it for 99cents. I lihg your idea of freezing my husband hates
Freezing food he won’t eat it
Does the “grocery” budget include health and beauty items, and things such as diapers? or is it just food? I am really wanting to do this…but I can’t imagine my grocery store bill being $50 or less a week. I have 3 children 7,5,2. My 2 yr old is almost potty trained, but still needing pull ups during sleep time. I try to use coupons and menu plan, I just need to be more diligent at it.
Haley~ This is just for food. If you do a google search or pintrest search, you can find a lot of plans for living on a set amount for your grocery budget each week. I saw one for $36/week and that was with feeding kids! The key is to eat a lot of fresh produce, incorporate a meatless day or two, and use coupons combined with sales.
Haley, That includes a few paper products (paper towels and tissues) but not health and beauty items or diapers. I shop a lot at Aldi, which helps significantly, since I don’t have time to coupon right now (I also have three children).
Great idea, I will be implementing this system into our family budget. I especially enjoyed the roll over method.~ AP
I really don’t know how someone can have a budget of $50 a week for groceries. Especially, since I also have to pack my childrens lunches for school. Also, when you have older children and teenagers it makes a huge difference with the grocery bill. They eat as much or more than adults. lol. We live in the country where there aren’t great sales nor do the stores double coupons. So we wouldn’t get much for $50. But love the country living. 🙂
Jen, I read an article or blog post where one lady was feeding a family of 6 on a $100.00 a week. I’m sure she was clipping coupons and had a well planned out menu.
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Jen, I believe the point of the system is to pick a target number as your weekly budget and stick with it…not to try to force you to reduce your weekly marketing to $50.
Jen, My kids are small so it’s definitely a smaller budget than what I would need if they were older. They eat so much now I am a little nervous about the teenage years! 🙂 Each family’s grocery budget is going to look different, and I’m sure you’re doing a great job with yours.
I also have a budget of $50-55/weekly (which I think everyone thinks is lowballing it/next to nothing). I find it a little hard to stay within budget and get snacks and lunches too. Do you have any meal planning tips for your particular budget?
And I completely understand about the embarrassment of going to the register and then having to say “put this back”. *sigh* But cash would be best, wouldn’t it? Btw- love the envelopes! I think I may just make my own like yours! 🙂
I go through the ads and look at the in-store specials and stock up on items when they are on sale. Many times the grocery store will deeply discount items that are nearing an expiration date [perhaps a month prior], yet if the items are unopened they are still good for a long time. I also buy meat when it is on sale and put it in my freezer until I am ready to use it. In doing so, I have saved a lot of money vs. full price. As well, I’ve started using frozen vegetables instead of canned vegetables. They are much cheaper. Just a few tips.
We have a family of 6 and some weeks I can keep it to $100, and sometimes I can’t. But I spend WAY less than most people I do. I look for sales, plan a menu for the week, cook with whole ingredients (hardly ever buy boxed mixes), and waste nothing. I render my beef and chicken bones into homemade broth, and freeze it for when I need it. Since I have gotten familiar with spices and how I can use them, I have really grown in my confidence to keep my family on budget. We also do a meatless night once a week, and that helps hugely.
I agree this should be when you have the extra money like tax time to start out. I have always wanted to open bank accounts for each category I wanted to save for.
We use envelopes for groceries, personal hygiene, gasoline, our kids’ allowance, and our “blow” money. We did the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University program last year, and it has changed our lives! Love the envelopes and budgeting! 🙂 Thanks for sharing.
Annie, That’s so awesome! We’re hoping to use more cash envelopes for other categories in the near future too.
Did you make or buy those darling envelopes? I need cute ones!
Melanie, I just traced a bank envelope onto scrapbook paper (full directions here: http://www.feathersinournest.com/2012/01/new-year-new-you-use-cash-envelope.html). 🙂
I use this system for some things and I think I’d like to try using it more. Great post! I also love the envelopes in the photograph. Do you know where they are from?
Thanks! I made the envelopes by tracing a bank envelope onto scrapbooking paper (full directions here: http://www.feathersinournest.com/2012/01/new-year-new-you-use-cash-envelope.html