EEBA, you ain’t sexy, but my wallet is hot for you.
My husband and I, after realizing that we are merely large, undisciplined children, when it comes to spending, began envelope budgeting a few years ago. I know, it’s so freakishly dorky, but setting a limit for each category, and not spending when the money alotted was gone, taught us how to think about what we were spending, plan ahead, and limit ourselves. However, withdrawing cash and handwriting numbers onto filled envelopes went against our geeky grain… until I found EEBA.
It’s somehow fitting that the straightforward simplicity of this tool for frugal freedom would not be pretty, shiny, and all of the things that my bulimic binge shopping used to be. But it works, and it’s kept us on the straight and narrow. I preset my budget for each category of the month, and when I spend, I enter the amount into the category. If I have money leftover at the end of the month, I have the option of deleting it, moving it into savings, or letting it rollover. In the beginning of each month, I simply hit the “fill envelopes” button, and presto, I’m ready to go again.
My only beef with EEBA: The beotch of this app is that each time I spend money, I have to manually enter the transaction into my phone immediately. If I don’t, it doesn’t work. Or I forget. Connecting this app to a bank transaction or credit card, or even a GPS, which I could notify when I am spending my cash could have its perks… Maybe when I go to the same service station, for example, and purchase gas three or four times, could the mobile app, which is with me, “remember” that this is what I am doing, and then just record the transation into the appropriate category for me?
Devices: iPhone, Android
Cost: Free
EEBA on the App Store
EEBA on Google Play
EEBA on the Web
