If you are like my husband, and well, like myself, then the thought of carrying cash may scare you. Now hold on, I know Dave Ramsey said that we will feel it more, if we have the cash in our hands - and I know he is right. However, I saw this on a blog today and thought it was interesting. If you are one of those nerds who likes to use Money, Quicken or any other online or computer program and are trying to bridge the gap between using the computer software and using Dave Ramsey's envelope system, this COULD help you.
If you click on the above link, and look at the product overview and quick tour, you may find that this system could be right for you. It does allow you to make virtual envelopes and it helps keep track of your money and spending and it even has a feature to use with your cell phone, so you can check your balances before you buy (no ooops on the budget). There are some cons though, it costs money. Another con: it may be hard to learn a new program in a hurry. Another con: it doesn't follow Dave Ramsey's complete plan... so you may find it counter productive. You can try a free trial for a month and see if this works for you, but if you are looking at the bottom line like me, this may be too much for your budget. If you are a nerd that must make their budget on the computer and wants everything nice and neat, this may help.
As for our family, I think I am going to try the traditional cash envelopes. We really need to make this budgeting thing work. Remember, its a marathon.... not a sprint. WE CAN DO IT!
Peace,
Melanie
Monday, October 6, 2008
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4 comments:
The envelopes really helped me see how much I was spending each week and month on everything. They really helped me set my budget straight. Now I can follow my budget without fudging.
It took about 3 months to get it right. No one expects anyone to be carrying around a lot of cash these days. It sure pays off at the gas stations!
Melanie, I am happy to hear you decided with Dave. I'm with Margaret on this one, cash is real, its finite. When it's gone, it's gone and unless you are the government, you can't just go and print some more to get by this month. Dave's envelope system isn't really free, you paid for it as part of your kit. So, since you already paid for it, and since its there waiting for you.....give it a try. It will rock your world. Just watch!
I watched to preview for the system and it is way too messy. Cash is simple. Besides, spending $129.60 a year to manage your own money seems rather, um, not Dave Ramsey-ish to say it nicely.
I love hearing about the impact Dave Ramsey has had on all us nerds! We contacted another recent FPU graduate couple and asked them to join us for dinner. They wanted to wait until they had plenty of cash in their envelope. During these very difficult economic times, it's important that we stick to what we learned.
On an aside, we're actually considering planting a vegetable garden in the backyard. We'll cut grocery costs and eat healthier, too.
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