Long before there were apps, my sister Jeanette kept her family's money on track with a stack of paper envelopes in a kitchen drawer. This is her system, written down — and now turned into a free little app for your phone.
Every paycheck gets divided up into categories — groceries, gas, rent, fun — before a dollar leaves your hands.
When you buy groceries, the money comes out of the groceries envelope. When it's empty, you wait.
Didn't spend it all? It stays. Envelopes build up over time, turning leftovers into savings.
Jeanette never had a fancy spreadsheet or a finance degree. What she had was a kitchen drawer full of envelopes, a pencil tucked behind her ear, and a way of stretching a dollar that left the rest of us in awe.
This site is everything she taught us about money — written down so it's not lost.
Read her story →If you can't see your money, you can't tell it where to go.
The full system, step by step — from your paycheck landing to your envelopes filling.
Read the guide →The little tricks that make the whole thing actually stick — most of them straight from Jeanette.
See the tips →Walk-throughs for getting set up, handling tricky months, and keeping your envelopes happy.
Start a tutorial →A free little budgeting app for your phone — same envelopes, just no rummaging in the drawer.
Download now →A free, illustrated budget app that lives on your phone. No accounts, no ads, no internet required.