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0:02 Hi, its day fourteen and today we are going to talk about the envelope system. Oh, this is so great. It's so old-fashioned, so old-school. That's what makes it so awesome.
0:16 I want you to get envelopes. They don't have to be brand new. They can be any kind of envelope- used, the return envelope that come in junk mail. All of those work. Get a stack of envelopes and label one for each of your holiday spending categories. You'll find that back on your spending plan. Remember, we did that a few days ago.
0:35 Label an envelope for each person on your gift list, okay? Your categories and also the people on your gift list. Write on the outside of that envelope how much you are allowing for that particular expenditure. Let's say its for your mother-in-law and you are going to spend $25 on her. So you put her name on the front and you put "$25". Now you get your envelopes all ready. Here's the hard part. This is what you said you planned to spend, so I want you to put that amount of cash in each envelope.
1:11 Don't think you can use your debt card instead. It won't work. It will not work! I can tell you. I only know because I've made all the mistakes so you don't have to, okay? It doesn't work. You want to put that actual cash in there. The rule is that you spend only from the envelopes, okay? You don't put it all into one big one with a list on the outside and how you'll spend. You've got to do it this way. I promise you it's the best, almost magical way to do it.
1:42 Now, I'm going to give you a little insider spending tip that we are going to keep between the two of us, okay? Shhhh....
1:50 You put on that envelope that you are going to spend $25 on your mother-in-law. I want you to change that thinking and wording just a little tiny bit. I want you to say instead, "I'm going to buy my mother in law a $25 gift."
2:07 Now let me tell you why that makes such a big difference. You are a great shopper. You know exactly what she loves, what she's looking for, what she longs for in a sweater. You are out shopping. Online. You are looking around and you find the exact sweater that will delight her heart and make you her absolute favorite person in the whole world. No, I didn't mean that. Forget that I said that. I didn't say that. The perfect, perfect sweater, and guess what? It's on sale for $19.99! It's only twenty dollars! You have purchased her a $25 gift, right? The price tag was far more than twenty dollars. You got it on sale. Does that mean, in our little world here, that you need to spend another five dollars on her to make it count? No, No, NO!
2:56 You're a bargain shopper, so you can take the $5 you didn't spend and use it somewhere else. You achieved your goal. You bought her a $25 gift. You have come in under budget. Aren't those just the most beautiful words in the world? Under budget! Imagine that! Now, repeat that over and over again throughout all of your envelope system management and you are going to be so thrilled with the outcome!
I'll see you tomorrow!
3:26 Debt-Proof Living with Mary Hunt was created and hosted by, me, Mary Hunt. Produced by Julie Emerson, with Harold Hunt, Executive Producer.
3:36 Save time. Save money. Every Day. Just make it easy on yourself! Subscribe at www.everydaycheapskate.com. That's where you will find all the ways to follow Mary, Everyday Cheapskate, and Debt-Proof Living.
Thanks for listening!
Item Title: This is Christmas. Item URL: https://elements.envato.com/this-is-christmas-C4NZ9CV. Item ID: C4NZ9CV. Author Username: TimCat Licensee: Mary Hunt
