Could this work for a budget?

[dustyflipflop]

Hoping for traffic and tips.
We are currently trying to save (i.e. not be near zero by the end of each month just pre payday).

We have 2 DCs, a dog and quite a few clubs and extra curriculars on, I have already cancelled the gym and decided not to get a new phone when my contract ended just go on a giff gaff plan instead.

When I budget at the beginning of the month it just about works out but then the money seems to vanish from the account on random extras.

Is it a silly idea to put designated amounts of cash in an envelope each week and then aim to get creative when it runs out until the week after? So e.g. envelope for groceries, envelope for petrol, envelope for dog stuff.

That way there are no random contactless purchases that are way to easy to make and also hopefully we will feel a bit more accountable when spending cash rather than swiping a card without looking.

Has anyone tried this and is it a half decent idea?
Does anyone have any other suggestions for sticking to a budget?

yes, there is a similar idea with jars for different categories of spending.

also, pay your savings first. At the start of each month, put £20 or whatever straight into savings and don't touch it.

This is a thing! Loads of videos on YouTube, Tiktok etc. I’m very tempted to try it.

I used to use jars when it was gone ut was gone!

Check out casn envelope budgeting on YouTube. Loads of people doing exactly this.

The key thing with any kind of budget system is to track all purchases. All of them. No random unaccounted for spending. You need to build up a sinking fund for larger, predictable costs e.g. car service/MOT, holiday, etc. And you need to build up an emergency fund for unpredictable costs e.g. washing machine breaks down.

Yep I did this with jars at uni.

Only thing I would say is you have to be realistic about the need for miscellaneous jar. There are always unplanned costs, where most budgets tank is not allowing enough money for those.

I use an amazing website/app called You Need A Budget (YNAB) it does exactly this without the actual envelopes! I recommend it wholeheartedly but it does have a cost after the first free period but it pays for itself

I have a Monzo account where you can put money into various virtual 'pots'. You can also set a budget and it will keep track on how much you have spent on groceries/eating out/transport etc. I don't really carry cash much and you can't use it in on buses etc so I prefer to be able to use my card and still stay accountable.

At start of the month once my direct debits go out, I divide my money by the number of weeks in the month. I them try to underspend every week and also see how many no spend days I can have

It is good idea but have to be realistic with will power. Like you say on paper it works it’s the oh well it’s only a coffee or this or that make up extra £100 a month.

Also re:Monzo you can set up savings pots that you can't access instantly for different lengths of time, you can set transactions to be rounded up to the nearest pound and that amount put in savings and you can lock a pot for as long as you want.

I've used cash envelopes to get me back on track and pay off some debts. It really made us stop buying unnecessary bits and pieces in the shops but also made sure that I had enough money for the things that mattered whenever that payment fell in the month.
Bills were done by direct debit then I worked out what I would need for shopping, dog food etc and took it all out of the bank in one go then split it up into weeks. I bought some A5 plastic envelopes to sort it all out.
I think it also helped my children see that once it's gone it's gone. It's harder to do that with a card - they just think it's some kind of money making device 🤣

I did this for a couple of years and it totally reset my spending tendencies. Somehow it was more real than card payments - if the cash wasn't in the envelope you either couldn't spend it or needed to forgo spending on something else.
At the time I was climbing out of debt and I genuinely don't think I could have done it without my envelope system.

I still use it now, but using accounts/savings pots etc - but I don't think I could have reset my thinking without the physical envelope system first

Look at The Budget Mom. American but she does exactly this with her cash.

Another vote for Ynab here! You put each pound to work by giving it a 'job' i.e. mortgage, food etc. If you want more money for X you need to move it from Y category.

It works fantastically. For instance, every month I put 1/12th cost of Christmas and car insurance in their relative categories and magically when both expenses come up I don't have to worry!

Have a look at "How I lived for a year on a pound a day". Lots of good tips in there. Maybe try to follow the £1/day rules one day a week, one week a month, or one month a year, so you can try to build up a reserve.

The same author (Cath Kelly) has a bunch of meal plan/recipe books of super-cheap food.