As cost-of-living pressures continue to climb, people are looking for creative ways to save. One method gaining popularity on social media is called "cash stuffing". It's a reinvention of the old envelope system our grandparents used to use, and it's bringing back the use of physical cash.
I am very much enjoying this cute phase Zoomers are going through at the moment where they "discover" things we all did 10 - 20 years ago and turn it into a social media trend. Like the dumb phone one that's also happening at the moment, with some young people rejecting smartphones in favour of flip phones Millennials used in high school.
But in all seriousness, this is actually a useful life hack if you are trying to restrict spending or live on a budget.
Most people use a binder with individual pockets or sleeves, with a label for each expense — for example, groceries, petrol, and eating out.
Financial expert and CEO of WeMoney Daniel Jovevski said the rise in popularity of cash stuffing took him by surprise.
"Having that physical product and that cash in my hand, that makes it a lot more easier to use, and for my mind to comprehend what I'm saving per week."
Mr Jovevski adds the lack of transparency means consumers "probably don't know the total fees they're paying".
He also raises the point that there are some risks involved in carrying around a lot of cash, such as theft, but he acknowledges that "everyone's situation is unique".
It not only lowers the risk factor of having large sums of money at home, but it also means you can still accrue interest on your savings.
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I haven't used cash for anything except dodgy Facebook and Gumtree buys in a decade. I currently have the better part of $1000 in cash in my wallet that has collected because I just never use it. I haven't entered a bank branch in probably a similar time frame, and they (BankWest) closed the branches near here so I'm not even sure where to deposit it if I wanted to.
You know what I like about bank accounts? You don't get drunk and leave your bank account in the back of a taxi home. And a house fire doesn't burn down your bank account. There's also a slightly less chance that people will break in to your home and steal your bank account, though it's probably a coin flip compared to scammers and what not.
But at what cost? Sure the individual will save in the short run on the occasional bag of dog food, but society at large will lose options that avoid tracking and outside intervention. The push for online shopping isn't for your convenience, it's for control over your life and your spending. In the future there will be only a handful of companies total, and they'll essentially become the government if we don't wake up and shake shit up.
So it's the same as running the Google sheets monthly budget template but with cash. Not a bad idea per se, but i can see the risk in withdrawing so much in cash to accomplish it
I've been wondering if there's a way to do this with actual bank accounts. I know with ING I can only have like 2 savings/transactional accounts (1 joint, 1 personal).
I'd like to be able to spin up accounts for these categories and use them as the "envelopes" instead of relying on cash.
I'm with bank Australia they let me have as many sub accounts as i please, no fees.
There's savings, bill kitty, rates, honeypot (building a six month expense nest egg separate to savings) car kitty, cat emergencies, house emergencies. Anything left on the main card-accessibile account is groceries and pissing away money. Been running that since the 90's. Works so well husband has been throwing his half in there as well since '07
Partner and I have 2 individual accounts where we get our personal money paid in and a main bill paying account that covers everything not related to personal stuff. We both contribute to the main account and pay out from that each fortnight for our "allowances".