Saving money

I used to laugh at my aunt in New York when she'd get paid and put her money in envelopes.  She had it all sorted out by the bill or need.  She knew what her bill would be each month and she'd put a little away from each paycheck towards that bill or need.  Then when it came due or they had saved enough for that item, she'd pull out her envelope and pay cash.

Cash?  I'm so used to debit cards (not credit!) that this was such a foreign concept to me.  Until we both had to readjust after downsizings at our companies a few years ago.  We cut back on our travel and settled down to have kids.  I stayed home for 5 years so my income was cut out completely.  My husbands income was our 'function' income.  We bought a house, car, paid bills etc. with what he brought home.  My income covered the extras.  Vacations, a second car, weekend trips, electronics.  We saved some too.

Anyway, I've been looking for a way to spread out the savings again now that I'm back to work and we have a 'fun' income again.  Luckily, we get paid on opposite Fridays so we have one check deposited each week.  I've had this idea in my mind for about 2 years now and I finally sat down to complete it.

Its an envelope book.  The cover is Maya Road and its the cover to their 6x6 square chip album.

 I used papers from My Minds Eye and of course, flair.

 Each envelope holds the money for the item we're saving for.  I picked up coordinating envelopes at The Paper Source and punched holes in them.

 The hexagon paper in this line was perfect as a place holder for the title of what we were saving for.  I cut out different design hexagons and used Jillibean Soup sticker letters.

 Some of the hexagons were a perfect fit.

 We plan on getting the passes again next year.  We let them go this year because we weren't sure if we'd have time to go with all of us working.  Now that we have a little routine down, we know we can go again.

 For those extra special nights out.  My husband is lucky that he gets 'points' as a rewards system at work.  He can 'cash in' the rewards for movie tickets, restaurant gift cards etc.  He usually opts for the movie passes and a restaurant card.  We stash those away and when we get a rare date night, we use them.

 And Christmas.  I used to have a Christmas Club through the credit union at work but it died when my job was sent to India.  Now I can save money for Christmas throughout the year.

Hockey.  If you have a kid who plays this sport, you know its expensive.  So I'm tucking a little bit away each month to pay for new equipment and the next session in the fall.

I also have another envelope titled 'Gift Cards'.  I know I took a picture of it but it has gone missing.  I'm too lazy to retake the one photo.  I'm keeping any gift cards we get as gifts or the ones my husband gets with his rewards points in there.  Its just a nice place to keep everything in one place.