From Cash Envelopes to Digital Envelopes: How Cindy Made Budgeting Easier in Retirement | 560

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2:09This is the Financial Coaching for Women podcast. All right, Cindy, thank you so much for coming on Financial Coaching for Women. We're so excited to talk to you about your success with budgeting with us. I'm glad to be here. I'm happy to share whatever I can. Thank you. Okay. So tell us what was money like with you before you had the system? Just kind of give us a background. Okay. I was divorced several years ago. And prior to that, we had done, my ex and I had attempted to do the Dave Ramsey plan and it didn't work. Not the plan. We didn't work. The plan was fine. But once I was divorced, I started doing the plan myself.

3:01And because I was terrified, I'd had four kids, one with special needs. I totally had my eye off the ball and was trusting him to do all of the things. I didn't have time. I wasn't interested. I didn't feel like I was literate in it. And I got my attention once the divorce happens. So I started on a legal pad, every paycheck, I would budget and I just always tried to refine that I was already investing in what I could at work. After my divorce, my attorney gave me a referral for a financial planner. So when the divorce was final, I started to use the financial planner, but my money was never, I was really pretty good at the Ramsey plan and I was scared enough that I was pretty dedicated to doing it correctly, but it was just a mess all on legal pads, scribbles, reworks.

3:56But every month, every paycheck I did, I was diligent about that. I would do like, I'd be getting my paycheck and I would, this is my bills. This is what I want. The only thing is, is that I had two accounts. I had a big savings account that I dumped any kind of excess in. And then I had my checking account that I paid bills from. And that was how I managed things. And it was working okay. Okay. It was working okay. Yeah. So some things I didn't like was, so first of all, I had, I've always carried a big purse. so I had like 20 envelopes 20 like letter-sized envelopes and all of my change would be in the grocery envelope and any of the bills so when we get ready to pay something I had a purse that weighed like 30 pounds and had all these coins all these envelopes and I always was worried I was going to get mugged in the pocket well you could just beat them with your mouth yeah there you go like yeah it's such a side weapon yeah so that was always a concern and then the other thing that I was doing that I'm so glad I got a handle on was all the money that was going into savings.

5:08I would think to myself, I didn't have a fine tune enough where if I would have like a yearly bill come, oh, I forgot about that. Well, I have it in savings. Oh, I want to go away for a couple of days. Oh, I have it in savings. And once I fine tuned, it was like, well, how do you know how much you haven't like, oh, I have that in savings. And then something big comes along. It's like, I wasn't anticipating that. And I don't have, I didn't know really how much I had in savings to spend on this, that, or the other. Right. Because it's all bunched together, right? Right. Right. We hear that a lot.

5:42Well, thank you for sharing that story. I really appreciate it. I think it sets the tone for how people are normally handling money every day. They have one account, everything's going in and out. They have a savings. They feel really good about that. They have savings, that's a bonus. They're just putting money in it. They don't know why or for reason or how often or whatever, but they think that that's, they, you know, it's like the first step. It's like baby steps zero of what we were taught in finance school, save 20%. Okay. For what, what is that doing? Does it have a name? Does it have a purpose?

6:08Like when do I, when can I use it? And there's so many questions that go along with that. So I think that's really good that listen, that's where you started. And then it led you to knowing that you wanted something different. Yeah. That's what I was going to say. So what, what was that tweak right there where you're like, this is kind of working other than my very heavy purse and my big old envelopes and everything. like what what made you be like but I want something different or what what did you start thinking or seeking out well I was listening to I was listening to his you know to podcasts a lot on investing and I just kept thinking I want to get more of a handle on it because I'm I'm going to retire I hope I can but I I just knew that I wanted to get more of a handle on it.

6:49And my partner, he's very, you know, he's tried to teach me how to use a spreadsheet. I was a nurse, so I didn't, I knew what I needed to do for my nursing, you know, computer, but the thought of having everything on a spreadsheet and not my legal pad was really anxiety producing for me because one click and the spreadsheet could be gone or I could be doing all these things and not know if I was, if I was even in the ballpark, like, like, if I got off, I could, I could see myself. Yeah. And you don't trust the spreadsheet math. You know, the math on the legal path is working, right? Right. And so, and I would, but then again, I was really hesitant to like do an app where you just are turning your bank account.

7:34And that just makes me nervous. And when I saw that you had the spreadsheet and you said, you can't screw this up. Just remember if you get this edit, don't click this, click that. And I did have a moment of panic about that. But once I knew that I couldn't screw the spreadsheet up, I was so thankful. And yeah, so that was the big thing for me was just not really being secure in my ability to do spreadsheets. Well, I think, you know, we put those barriers in place there to make it as easy as possible. So So that way, if you did accidentally click something you weren't supposed to, you knew it, it would tell you, and then you knew that how to fix it.

8:16And I think the walkthrough videos and everything that's in there really allows you to feel safe that it's, you're not just, it's not just a spreadsheet, like a$16 spreadsheet you bought on Etsy and like, Hey, good luck. It is walkthrough videos. It's thorough. You have a full course. It's, you have lifetime access to the sheet. It's so much information and you can use it all or you can use one thing. Well, and I love all the, all the tutorials and stuff that came with it. Like I've watched them multiple times as I've progressed through it. Yay. I love that. And I love the fact that anytime that I've reached out to you guys, it's not like a lot of places where crickets chirping, you just don't hear back.

8:52You guys have always been super receptive when I've had questions. And so I really appreciate that. Well, you're welcome. We don't want anyone to feel like they're doing this alone. Yeah. And we, like you and your legal pad, we like this. We love what we're doing. And so it's not a chore to help somebody who's trying to help themselves. And by the way, people who watch all the videos are kind of our favorite. But I have to go back because the one thing that I haven't done yet is I haven't automated the payments. I did all of the sub accounts and I love being able to look in there and go, oh, this is how much money I have for vacation.

9:26Oh, I made like an Amazon slash home account because Amazon's one thing, like kind of like Target for people. Right. Like I love to get books and stuff. And it's like you don't have you need to have an account to do that. We need to have one sort of boundary accountability there. Yeah. Yeah. But it's it's been nice to have like I have like I just always get out X amount of dollars for restaurants for the two week period. And then just a little bit of discretionary in case something weird comes up. But I and the other thing is that my use a credit union and they were all about like helping me get those separate accounts.

10:01but all of those accounts like they're like sub accounts from my so they don't I know you guys have talked about like having a place where all those accounts are drawing interest and stuff and I haven't done that yet yeah I hope I will in the future but I just haven't done it yet yeah but I love being able to look in that like I have a medical account so when I have co-payments that's where it comes from and I have a clothing account so you know and I had done a lot of stuff Like I tried to think of every single expense I had that was going to come up or that could come up. I went through and I did like a beauty account because, you know, you go and that's like if you want to get your nails done, if when you get your hair.

10:43Like I went through and tracked everything for me from like the past year when I set that up and then did an estimate like a monthly breakdown. And that's been really helpful. Like, no, you can't go get a pedicure because you need that money for something else that's coming up your cut or color or whatever. So it's been so nice to have that fine-tuned like that. It probably worked for me well. I love the paycheck plan, too. Oh, yeah? I just go in there and click. You know, when I get paid, I just go in and I move all the money around. Does it for you. And it's done. Yeah. Yeah, I love that. And I think it must have clicked so well for you because you already were doing the envelopes, right?

11:21And so what we're really saying is make that digital. It's the same concept. Now your money still has a label on it, but it's in an account. And, you know, I think to your point, it's really nice to know, oh, I have an emergency fund because we still need that. But I also have this savings that's for my travel. I also have savings for me to go get my hair done. I also have Christmas. Like I have all of these things and I know I have the amounts. I know it's all. And like you said, I've thought this through. So almost everything that could happen to me money-wise is figured out and thought through and I've got money and it makes you just feel so much better.

11:54Yep. and then once I retired it it was like fine-tuning that even because now you don't have a paycheck oh I can work a few hours extra and have a little bit more it's like and that's not what works unless you unless which maybe I will get like a bit of a part-time job or whatever doing something I actually is fun or something that I never would have done before but it that was the oddest thing about retiring was that you have this mindset like you have just a regular income. Well, at that point, it really became set it and forget it. And like you said, really the last step that you're about to do is that automation part of paying your bills.

12:36And then you literally just maybe have to check in on it a couple times a month if you wanted to. But all your spending accounts are going to get funded, all your savings, all your bills, like and it's done for you. And like you said, your income isn't changing at this point. So you know, once you put it in there, once you set up all of that to happen for you, I mean, girl, you're just sitting back. Yeah. And I did do like, and I had my taxes help this year with, I get a bigger return than I usually do. I'm usually like pretty even, but, um, you know, getting a paycheck ahead, it's like, maybe you need to put some of that tax money to just boost that a little bit then you know if something happens it doesn't overdraw the that account there's always cushion in there so i that was a good concept yeah good to have that paycheck ahead yeah absolutely paycheck ahead makes you feel like a million bucks it's like like you said if something and it's not because you're retired it's not like you're gonna lose your income necessarily but if a glitch happens in the bank or something happens or whatever and you're just Like, so many people don't live that way.

13:42They're living paycheck to paycheck. And instead, you're just living a paycheck ahead knowing, no stress. No, I'm good. All right, budget besties. It's time for some Real Talk. You don't need another budget. You need a budget system. Our simplified budget system is what you've been looking for. It's going to allow you to be bougie on a budget. You'll be able to easily set up a system that runs automatically and shows you exactly where your money is going. And it's going to give you permission to spend. Everybody loves that. It's straightforward, pretty, and packed with walkthrough videos that break down the exact methods we use with our clients to get out of debt, set up a bills account, separate spending, build savings buckets, and end the paycheck to paycheck feel.

14:24If you're new to budgeting, this is the perfect way to jump in. And if you're already a budget nerd like us, you're about to meet your new obsession. This is the upgrade to your finances that you need. Now back to today's show. I had one question really quick. You had talked about you were using envelope systems, you know, and now you're doing the digital envelope system through the bank accounts. We had a lady message us this morning and she was like, do you really want me to open multiple accounts? And I would just love for you to speak to that. Tell the rest of it because it was giving her heart palpitations.

14:56Yes. She said it was giving her heart palpitations to open up multiple accounts. And so she was kind of nervous. And, you know, you have been doing a certain type of system for a long time. And so you're new to this. and you know now you're you're in retirement age can you speak to somebody who may be nervous about changing the way that they're handling money and how it's really kind of helped you I would say other than knowing I can't blow up the spreadsheet the best thing for me has been like having those sub accounts because I know exactly now but the best thing has been not having I always felt like people that were behind me in line were like oh my look at that You know, she's got 40 envelopes and they're all, oh, I have to sift through here and I don't want anybody to see you.

15:43It was just so awkward. And now I know it's I know it's there because I review that I go in. It's like, oh, I have plenty of money, you know, to knock over a button. It's some money, but I have enough that I can go do things. And it's it's nice to be able because like when I do my budget for me, like there may be something that I have to tweak a little bit. But normally it's the same thing always going into those same accounts. And it just builds up and builds up and builds up. And I love that story that you told about the gal that went in and got the tires for her car. And she was just like, oh, no problem.

16:20I have that. Well, I have like an auto account. And that's for those expenses that come up. And so, you know, I would, if some major thing happened, I have some savings, you know. But by and large, it's nice just to have the confidence to go in and know, you know what, you can do this because you're caught up. That's one of the best things about the account was getting that money more fine-tuned. Because like I said, I had money in savings, but I was defaulting to savings every time that something unexpected would come up or something. Oh, I want to do this. And I want to go to a concert. Oh, I've got money in savings.

17:00Well, if you do 30 concerts and then you have something come out of the blue and it's like, oh, I don't have the money for this thing that I have to do. But I went to 30 concerts because I had money. I did all the stuff I wanted to do. Then now you could have like an entertainment fund and it would be less likely that that would happen. So that has been having those separate accounts has been a game changer for me. Yeah. So you would say it didn't stress you out to open them. First of all, it sounds like it gave you less stress, right? And second of all, even your bank people were nice about it.

17:32So it made you feel less stressed is what you were saying, right? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So I use a credit union, and they're fabulous. I've used them for a long time. And I went in there. I made an appointment. There's a gal that does this type of thing. I reached out to the bank because they had some, it was called Money Map or something. And I said, well, how does this work? This is kind of what I want to do. And she's like, oh, we have this gal who, that's kind of what she does is she helps you with budgets and stuff and I'm like well I don't really need help with the budget but I want to talk to her about sub accounts and she sat me down and I said these are what I'm thinking for accounts and there's like eight of them or something and you know we renamed them it was kind of a learning process for her too but she was really like looking out at the process and you're just helping her for the next one no I was gonna say that yeah probably has sub accounts You did.

18:29She's like, I like this idea. Yeah. Okay. So what else has, you know, have you been able, you know, you, you have the credit card that you have a$6 balance. So that's not really, so debt wasn't really an issue. You've got the different accounts, you know, you're still using a little bit, which actually maybe you can speak to that. You're using the cash and the digital accounts. So you have a couple of cash envelopes, which is why the paycheck plan is something that you love so much, probably. So tell us about how that's working and going for you? So I have one account that I put every two weeks, I put in money for groceries and gas.

19:04And I kind of just keep track of that in my head. I don't really like that necessarily, but it's better than I could fine tune that a little bit more, I feel. But then I go get cash. Every time I get paid, I get cash. And that's strictly for restaurants. And then there's just a little bit of there for discretionary now in my so when I go to a restaurant if I go to a more if we go to a more pricey place or if we go to like Chick-fil-a or if I go get a cup of coffee that's like all the restaurant fund yeah and then so I yeah I like having a little bit of cash just because I don't like to be caught without cash and I feel like that was I felt like I might change that in the future but I felt like that was the area that would be the best for me to have cash in I tried groceries and gas for a while and I don't like going in and saying oh I want to put $20 of gas in my car and then oh it only took it only took 18 and I have to go back in and so that I really didn't like that that's kind of why I switched it but that's kind of a work in progress just like the automation thing it's it's like I know that I have to do the automation thing, but it's working so well right now.

20:19I don't feel like it's an urgent thing that I have to do it. Yeah. Well, and I like how you're able, you know, the paycheck plan will tell you exactly like Shayna said, what cash to get out, when to get it out and all of that. So it'll help you set that up. And I think that dining out and restaurants, entertainment, whatever that is called for you, it's probably the easiest one to do that cash because you're always there. You're buying the thing unless you do an order to go, but you're always really there in person purchasing it. And a lot of times right now you're getting discounts if you're paying with cash anyways so it's kind of a benefit but yeah yeah so I love the fact that this is pretty I love the fact that you click on it and then it it goes away and then you can unclick it and it comes back into bold print because sometimes when I when I have a smaller payment I have one payment that's a little bit smaller and I I'll go in and I'll only do a portion of things so and then maybe like a few days later, I'll go back.

21:13And it's a good way to for me to remember, oh, yeah, I did that or I did that. So I love that. All right. Well, thank you so much for coming on, Cindy. And you have so many fun things you could be doing. And you gave us a little bit of your time. We're very appreciative of it. And so thank you for sharing your story. And and I think it can help a lot of people. I think a lot of people might be in a similar place as you. It was a great investment, I feel. And I I, I, the fact that all the updates like locked in, I, you know, I'll always get those. And now I know that I can reach out to you guys for help.

21:44There's that group. And now you're doing two of them, you know, an evening one too. So I feel like it was well worth the investment to do it. I'm really happy that I did it. And I had done another one before that was similar, that I was more spreadsheet-y. And it wasn't that it wasn't good, but it just wasn't good for me. And so it was a little bit less. And I think it would have been good had I been more spreadsheet savvy. But I love this because you don't have to be spreadsheet savvy to do it. We're spreadsheet savvy for you. And then we just gave you all the tools. We made it look pretty for you.

22:21Yes. It looks easier. Yeah. Yeah. Well, we're so glad that you found us. And we're so glad that you're in our community. I know that you're in our Facebook group. You're on the calls. You're super involved. And I think that's the best way to get a handle on it and really understand your numbers. And like you said, if you have questions, I love how you are reaching out and asking those because, again, we don't want you to feel alone. So, Cindy, thank you again for coming on. Thank you for your time. We really appreciate it. You're welcome. And we'll see you in the group. All right. Thanks. If you make good money but have nothing to show for it, this quiz will help you figure out what's really going on with your money and what your next step should be.

22:54You'll get a personalized result and a simple action step to help you feel more organized and less stressed. Go to budgetbesties.com forward slash quiz and take the free quiz today. That's budgetbesties.com forward slash quiz to find out what's really going on with your money.