I don’t claim to be an expert on marriage, nor finances, but my husband and I have stumbled upon a trick that I think could be of use to other couples (and single people too).
Many people are familiar with Dave Ramsey’s envelope system,
but in reality, who wants to carry around envelopes of cash. It’s not
convenient, nor is it safe. I just wouldn't feel comfortable toting any large quantity of cash around with me.
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So we’ve come up with an alternative.
We found this nifty app called Good Budget. It’s an envelope system, without the envelopes. [ps: they’ve never heard of me,
and aren’t compensating me for this whatsoever! But, the app is free, so that’s
kind of compensation enough!]
You set up the envelopes with the amount of money you want them
to start with. Each time you make a transaction, you put it in the
app. It tracks where you spent the money, how much, and tells you how much you
have left for the month. It even tells you if you are on track proportionally for the set amount to last you until the end of the month.
So easy and so helpful!
The best part, and the relationship saver, is that you can sync the app with another person! You can track your spending together.
Example: My husband and I obviously share a
grocery budget, and we both do some of the grocery shopping. With a traditional envelope system, we would have to either
have two envelopes, or play tag with the envelope depending on who was going to
the store. Now, we can both use the grocery budget, track expenses, and see how
much we have left: all with one app!
As a saver, it gives me the peace of mind to know when
to pinch pennies, but it also gives me the freedom to feel ok with a little splurge.
