Why Cash Envelopes Didn’t Work for Her and the Simple Budget System That Did | 593

0:01The annual bills is the least fun saving bucket ever, but it is most necessary. I remember in March thinking about the feeling of that's it. That's all I have to do. I don't have to think about this every day. Our whole plan here is to make it as simple and automatic as possible. Do the least amount as possible. So it was like his hands were shaking and it was... I'll put this ice cream sandwich in your hand. You give me a debit card. Getting the mail and the anxiety of opening my bills is completely gone. Do you make good money but have nothing to show for it? Are you tired of living paycheck to paycheck?

0:37Do you have big dreams for your financial future? Do you want to get debt-free but you don't want to live on beans and rice? Or you don't want to give up those pumpkin spice lattes? If you don't already know how to budget or if you're using credit cards to get through the month. If you want to seem like you have your finances all together or you're not on the same page with your spouse when it comes to finances. We know what you're doing probably isn't working, but guess what? You're in the right place. We're Shana and Vanessa. We're best friends, business partners, and master financial coaches trained by Dave Ramsey.

1:06We've been in business since 2019, helping hundreds of amazing people like you create budgets, get out of debt, stop living paycheck to paycheck, and know exactly what to do with their money. In this podcast, we'll share with you everything we know plus everything we're working on with our clients so that you have the best chance at reaching your financial goals. We want to help you take the guesswork out of your budget, improve your marriages, and even bring your kids in on the conversation. We can help you no matter where you're at, whether you're the single mom who's never had$500 in her savings account or the millionaire who's paid off four real estate mortgages.

1:38And we're not going to shy away from the tough love. We'll tell you what you need to hear and encourage you at the same time. This is the Financial Coaching for Women podcast. All right, Mary, welcome to Financial Coaching for Women. We're so excited to have you. We're all going to be here talking about the B word together. So tell us what brings you to the call and how we can help. I'm excited to be here. I am just getting started with your system and learning how to navigate and figure out how to pay off debt and get started. So I'm looking forward to hearing tips and strategies that can help me.

2:20Okay. Yeah. Where to let us know, what is one area that you're feeling stuck in right now? So figuring out the different savings buckets and how to make sure that I have enough for the annual expenses and how to plan for those expected, unexpected things that will come up throughout the year. The adulting. All the adulting. That's what I was going to say. The annual bills is the least fun saving bucket ever, but it is most necessary. So important. So good job for you for doing that. The thing here is you've let's rewind just a minute and make sure you feel good about how you've set up your system to have your income, your debt minimums, your bills, and your spending.

3:04You feel good about the spending buckets? I do. I have everything automated. Oh, let's go, Mary. gold stars. Yeah, I love that. It was like, oh my gosh, that makes so much sense. I've years ago, I went through the Dave Ramsey course and did the envelopes. And so when I first learned about your system and did the automation, it just made sense for me. And I love the system. And it's just figuring out how much I need and where everything needs to be. Okay. So you have the system, you've set, you have your budget done, you have everything set up automatically, and you're just wanting to make sure your savings buckets are where they need to be to make sure you're covered.

3:53Specifically, so you've listed out all of your annual bills that you can think of. Is that like where you started? Okay. Yes. But I'm finding that my auto savings bucket. When things come up, I'm not putting enough money towards that bucket or trying to tweak that. I have a couple of buckets that I know I want to add in eventually. So I just need to get there. Which ones are you doing? Yeah. Which ones have you already started? So I have, I have a Christmas vacation. I have all the good ones. Start with the good ones. I have my vehicle. I have a house, projects, gas. I just recently started a gas.

4:44And then I have my groceries. I have it separate. Okay. Yeah. And then I have beauty. We own a camp. So I have a camp tax bucket and then a birthday. Okay. Okay. So now you need to open up your annual bills one. Is that what you're thinking? I have a bills. Oh, okay. annual bills. So I have a bills account. So I separated my bills. I did all that. That was interesting with my husband to separate that and get that debit card out of his wallet. Yeah. Did you have to sneak in at night and do a low crawl and steal it? No, I'm just kidding. It's like a bartering game. It was like his hands were shaking and that was I'll put this ice cream sandwich in your hand.

5:33You give me a debit card and you're one of your kidneys. That's what they feel like. They feel like you're taking everything from them when you do that. For sure. It was a little traumatic, but he's, he's completely on board now that we've lifted a few months. Perfect. Good. Yeah. Okay. So I heard you say a couple of things that I have some questions about. You said we were talking about savings buckets. We were specifically, we should have been more clear we were talking about your savings accounts and you were labeling gas and groceries are those checking how many of your buckets are checking versus savings so checking i have my bills i have so my husband has a checking account i have a checking account we have gas as a checking so groceries i have a checking perfect yeah so you had it right you're just listening all of them while you're reading it.

6:22Perfect. Here is one thing that it sounds like we need to talk about annual bills, but we'll put a pause in that because I think what you hit was the vehicle. You thought sometimes our clients will put oil changes in there and then like all of a sudden they need tires. So, and, or they forgot about their car registration or taxes for their cars. And so those can, we actually really do those one of two ways. If you have an annual bills account, which is different from your monthly bills account. It's an annual bills. Sometimes we'll put the property tax that you owe for your car or your car registration in that one, because it's a bill that you're going to pay and it makes sense in people's minds to do it separate.

7:02So those would be listed in there. But then what you want to do is start to think about if it's been a while since I got tires, I don't know, but maybe 5 ,000, 10 ,000 miles. I don't know how many you can put on tires. My husband knows that we could ask him, but you need to think about, okay, I don't need tires now, but in a year. So maybe I'll just start. I know my tires cost a thousand dollars. So I'll just start putting a little bit, knowing that I'll be ready. Then any maintenance that you can do for your vehicle, which I also don't know what those are, but I think it breaks. Sometimes you have to do that.

7:30You have your oil changes. Maybe I don't know what else, but those are the things that you want to start to list out and think about in the vehicle. And then you have a system, you put, put the title of it and then the amount. And then at the bottom, it's going to show you a monthly amount and you might not get it right. You didn't, you don't think of everything and there's nothing wrong with that. That's just, that's normal. Yeah. We don't like, this isn't about perfection, right? But we would suggest take, since you have a system and you have the savings bucket planner there, print it out. Everything prints on one, one page.

7:57The instructions are there on, I think the getting started page, it shows you how to do that. So print out the savings bucket planner. So you have it in front of you. I don't, there's something to me about having it in front of you, being able to write on it, look at it, But just look at what you already have typed in and go, how much do I actually cost in a year in these categories? So we do keep all of the bills together. It doesn't matter whether it's vehicle bills or whatever. Home, some people put, I have an HVAC membership that once a year they come and clean. If you automatically have that set up, it's a bill that you owe somebody that goes under annual bills.

8:29Everything else under home and vehicle is all maintenance stuff that you may or may not get here and there randomly throughout the year, right? So just look at those categories, your beauty, your travel, medical co-pays, and again, annual bills. If you don't have your property taxes or homeowner's insurance wrapped up into escrow, that goes there. If you have a prime membership, if you have a Costco or Sam's Club membership, your termite bond inspection that comes once a year, all of those random auto insurance, if you pay six months or if you do that annually, all of that will go into that annual bills savings account, right?

9:01So that is separate than your monthly bills. and then, okay, let me back up because we recently got into the habit of wanting this checking account for annual bills. Okay, so instead of having a savings bucket, you could automatically have those bills being deducted from those, like the payments being deducted from that checking account, this new annual bills checking account. So if you wanted to make it checking, you could absolutely do that. And then you're funding it every single month to make sure you have the cash for when it pulls, the money is always there. Or our old school way was to have it a savings account.

9:30You have your funding in every single month. And then when the bill comes due, you transfer it from savings into your bills account because it's a bill and now being paid from that account. And then you pay the bill. So either way works. But I think it's just taking that 30 minutes or an hour sitting down and going, what are these random annual bills that pop up throughout the month that I need to make sure I have on here so I have the cash to pay for them when they come due? I think that will make a huge difference for me and take that. So much of the anxiety is gone for me. And I think that was just the one little piece that has been remaining.

10:05And so if I separate the annual bills, I think that will be a huge help for me. So thank you. Yeah, I think that it's one of the ones that it's the most adulting. So it's the least fund savings bucket. But it is one of the ones that if you don't have it, it's what derails your budget the most, right? Because those are big expenses sometimes. And if you haven't been saving for them a little bit at a time. But the other thing that this does, and this is why we've moved to it being in this. So it's really good that you asked. we've moved from it being a savings account to a checking account is what we've done for your bills account that your husband was really on board with is declutter your life.

10:38It's so simple. You have probably 20 max, 30 bills that are, that's it. That's all that's happening in there. And you know, you can add a glance, know that things are good. You can take care of it. What we were having to do with the annual bills is okay, this bill came out or this bill's about to come out. Let's transfer into that. And it's just creating a little extra, which we're not here for the extra. Our whole plan here is to make it as simple and automatic as possible. The least amount is possible. So if we do the same with our annual bills, because one of them that people have is like trash.

11:04People have those quarterly bills that kind of get which day month. Okay. We're just going to put the monthly amount in that annual bills account. And then when it drafts, you don't have to transfer. We don't have to remember how much is in your bills account, all of that. So you can make it as automatic. So it's just the same concept as the bills in the annual. And then again, there's only like 10 or 20, maybe transactions happening in there ever. So it's so easy to keep track of. Yeah. I love that. Yeah. And even we call it annual bills, but even the quarterly stuff, throw that in there, making it an annually and quarterly bill checking account.

11:34And Shana said what you probably will have 20 transactions in the entire year. How easy is that to go back and track and look at and see what goes on and check off. And yeah. And you don't have to do anything because if you automatically set the payments to come out from that checking account, you're done. You're funding it every month. It's being paid for whenever they, whenever those payments draft, that's doing its thing over here. Your monthly bills are doing its thing over here. And then your spending is over there. And it's all separate. Like she said, it's decluttering your finances. We've moved from the cash envelope system, like this hands-on cash envelope system to the digital version.

12:07And you can do less and enjoy your life more. Absolutely. Yep. And that's what was happening. So in the vehicles, I was putting in the money for the tabs and my husband would, I need an oil change. And so I transferred money, but that was the money for the tabs. And so taking that out and putting that in annual bills will take out that whole stress. Yeah. We really need to go interview some of the men that do these things or whatever. It's not just men, but I really need to think about all the things that, you know, that a vehicle savings bucket or maintenance requires. Yeah. And the same for home because everybody's home is different.

12:46So everybody has different projects and annual things that they do to their home or that they want to save for maintenance wise. but it's still, there's a long list and it's hard to remember all of it. That's the whole point of a lot of this is to take it out of having to keep it, file it up in here. So it would be nice if we could, maybe we'll do it by the time this episode airs, have some sort of brain memory jogger or whatever for all the different expenses that could be in those savings buckets because there's a lot. There could be a lot and it's hard to remember everything at once. All right, budget besties, it's time for some real talk.

13:16You 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.

13:47If 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. But the other thing I was going to say is don't be afraid as they come up, just add them to your, this is how we're going to, you're going to, after one year, you're not going to have forgotten anything, Mary. You're going to be really good. And so just give yourself a little bit of grace knowing that, oh, I forgot about oil changes. Oh, like you can keep adding these things to the bucket.

14:17And then by the time you're done with the year, you have the rest of your life. You're set. I just started in January and I already feel so much better. I've been listening to your podcast. And I remember in March thinking about the feeling of that's it. That's all I have to do. I don't have to think about this every day. I know. And it's true. You've taken the stress and the worry away from that day to day. worry about what do I do? I don't have to worry about it. I think people don't believe us, right? It's one of those things where they feel like it has to be harder than it is. And when they, when we tell them this, they're like, I don't really know if I believe you.

14:57And then like you, you do it and you're like, oh, I do have half of my life back because I don't have to be in my numbers all the time. Something should get easier. Yes. You know what I mean? In our lives, I feel like we have all of this technology. You're expecting me to remember were thousands of passwords, like all of them. Oh my gosh. Part of this new fangled technology should make my licensee. I feel like that's only fair. And that's what we really try to find. Like you said, it's perfect if you're coming from Dave Ramsey and you already know that because we are too. We did the, we had the exact same journey.

15:25It's like, okay, a breaking point for both of us was trying to send our daughters to a baseball game with cash and they came home with their cash because they wouldn't accept their cash. And we're like, wait, what? And the clients were like, I don't want to go to the ATM every time. And so, okay, we can figure this out. And now to your point, the bank, the automatic transfers, the separate accounts, it's all making it easier for you, which is important. I think, I feel like some things should get easier. It seems fair. It does seem fair. And it's so simple and it makes so much sense. I think that you're like, wait a minute, it's that easy?

15:58Is it too good to be true? But it really is so simple and so impactful in this short amount of time for me. So I'm excited to see the further I go. And I think about, oh, I wish I would have found this years ago, but I do think God's time is perfect. And so it's been helpful for me. So I just appreciate both of you and wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for the work that you're doing. I don't know how often you hear that. So I just wanted to say that I appreciate the work that you do. Thank you, Mary. That is very kind. I really do appreciate that. When we're on the podcast, it's one-sided.

16:34We're just talking all the time. We're hoping they're like getting it. And we don't get to do this. That's why we love when people book the live calls because they're so fun to finally interact with our audience and just have a conversation. Yeah. And there's, it's, you never know what people, what we haven't, you could hear something seven times and we didn't say it the right way that makes it click. So it's really good for you guys to come on here and we can hopefully actually answer real questions instead of what we think are questions. But yeah, we love being able to do what we do. And it does feel like we're all kind of cheating.

17:04It is a symbol. We've all been like stressed for decades. About money. It's simple. Okay. That doesn't seem fair. But I love that you said that God's timing because you never know. You might not have been open to it. Imagine your husband five years ago, if you tried to get that Bill's debit card, he would have been like, not there yet. But he's a little calmer now. So he's take it. But I think you're right. And we're just hoping that we can spread it all, spread the message. We all want to be feeling good about our numbers and we have so much better things to do with our time. Yeah. I know. It's not like we're all like, oh, I can't, I don't want to deal with my finances or I want them to get worse or I don't want to be good at it.

17:41I hope it stays stressful. Yeah. Nobody else, nobody's saying that. We all want this to be easier and be better for ourselves and we have better features. We want our kids to do better than we did. And that's hopefully what this system is implementing for you guys. and I also attended your class between Christmas and New Year so that was helpful so the timing was just perfect I first listened to your podcast at the end of November in 2025 and then I took December to get things automated listen to more podcasts and because I've been searching for years for the right system I've bought different different binders different planners, different systems, and nothing has really worked.

18:25And so I've been searching. And when I found your podcast, again, I thought, what? This is so simple. I don't need any binders. Yeah. And so I thought it's not going to cost me anything to learn and listen and automate and do the things that I can do. And then I attended your class before I made the decision to purchase the system. And then I thought, I'm very efficient with Google Docs. Could I do this myself? And then I'm like, why would I do it myself when you've done the math for me and it carries over for me and you have all the help docs. And so I'm so glad that I purchased your system. Yay.

19:08Okay. This is turning into a testimonial call, but thank you so much for the kind words. We're supposed to answer your questions, but we would be the same way. Cause we're, we're like, Like, let me, I guess I would have been, I think you might've come to the same conclusion. There's a time and place where I'm going to DIY it. And then there at certain point, I'm like, why am I going to put the work on me? Can I just get the shortcut real quick? And so we would have been the same way. Let me just rebuild it in Google. I can figure this out. But honestly, we did have to hire a super nerd to do it for us.

19:35So we couldn't even have done it. I did want to ask Mary. I think it's really interesting because we're in our own bubble. We've been doing this for six, seven years. I didn't even mean that like a joke, kids, but it's fine. I think she really did. What do you think clicked for you or what you've had these other systems you were trying and you were searching, you were seeking out. What is it that made you be like, this is the one, this is what I'm going to, or what made you do what I mean? Like, yeah. What was your turning point to like, why did you seek us out compared because you already had these other tools and you were, they weren't working, but what did you hear that you were like, okay, now this is for me.

20:08because it allowed me to the system fit within my life it isn't restricted to it's not an all or nothing where past systems were the you're only eating the rice and beans you have to give up everything and I really at the point in my life you know what gives me the most anxiety. And I think back to the bills account that I had when I did the cash envelopes, if I didn't get to the bank on the day I got paid to get out my cash and it would be the next week, I didn't, if I take the cash out, I don't know, am I taking all the cash out? And then do I have enough? Because I wasn't tracking the bills.

21:00I didn't know I had so much anxiety. So then I would just say, I'll get the cash the next week or the next time I get paid. And then it would just compound. And so then I just forget it. I just, this isn't working. And so then we would just resort to credit cards. And so this system allowed me just because I'm, I'm a system level thinker and organ, I love organization. And so this spoke to me. So to pull out the bills and have that separate spending account for myself and my husband. And so that right there gave me an immediate relief to the anxiety. And having those separate categories, and I love categories.

21:44And so immediately it was like, that just fit my way of thinking, my brain. And usually I like to write things out. And I didn't know how the digital piece would work. But again, I use Google Docs every day. So I really enjoy the Google Doc more than I thought I would. And just how much of that has to do with how pretty it is. It is. Well, you look at Mary. And honestly, I was on the tread. So I just again, just searching. I'm like, I don't know. I can't find a system that works for me. Forget it. I guess it just isn't out there. And I was having to be on the treadmill. I'm looking for a podcast and I find a pink.

22:26Pink's my favorite color. I listened to this one. And it just caught on from there. And so I love the color, the spreadsheet or the Google Doc. It's pink. It's pretty. The font is great. So yes. It's all very intentional. It all worked. Yes. Yeah. I tell everybody that will listen to me. You've got to check this out. That is so sweet. That is so sweet. Thank you. And we know all about like how many times have we had this conversation with our clients? You had to go. You have to go to the bank. You have to go to the bank. And they're like, I don't want to go to the bank. We're like, I don't want you to go to the bank.

23:03We know exactly what you're talking about. And then it just, like you said, spirals out of control from day one. If you didn't get to the bank on time, I'll get early to the ATM. Especially the Friday, because everyone usually gets paid on Fridays. And you're expecting somebody to go on a Friday after work to a bank, which obviously isn't busy because it's a bank on Friday. For whatever reason. So yeah, it just, it takes all of that friction out of it. It takes all of the headache out of it. And it just allows you to be successful. I love my day off is Thursday, right? Our day is off for Thursday.

23:29I love waking up on Thursday and my accounts are filled. Why do I do it on Thursday? Because I'm off on Thursday. And that's usually when I spend my money. And so for me, Thursdays work better than Fridays, but it's so nice to know that I set that up in good headspace when I was making good decisions and my budget's working for me and it's all done. I didn't have, I don't have to do anything else after that. Right. Yeah. We are so excited. Thank you for coming on and sharing your story. Thank you for asking that question about annual bills. I think a lot of people have a hard time figuring out what does that look like for them and how do they organize it and not to clump it in with your monthly bills because a lot of people want to just buffer in there and that just gets way too convoluted and unorganized.