Get Smart About Budgeting #sponsoredpost #SmartBudget

Envelope budgeting is an age-old way of keeping  track of your funds by dividing it up into envelopes dedicated to categories of expenses. One for car expenses, gas, lunch money, bills, dining out, etc. This concept works particularly well to teach young couples and students how to manage their money.

While some people have found this works, others find that envelopes of cash are just too tempting, and they cheat a little here, a little there, and suddenly bills don’t get paid. In this post I’m going to give you some quick tips to budget wisely and use the envelope budgeting concept the modern way, with a pre-paid Visa®  card.

1. Buy a coffee maker. The average American spends $1,092 at coffee shops.  I know I don’t spend this much, but I do use my coffee maker.  I love those coffee shop drinks though and am glad I have found ways to make them at home!
2. If carrying cash around in an envelope makes you nervous, try loading up a PayPower™ Visa® Prepaid Card with the funds you have to spend. You can pay your bills online for free, and unlike a credit card there is no credit check and you can track your spending online and reload the card any time.
3. Roll over any unused fund on your pre-paid card to use the next month or into an emergency or fun fund.
4.  Schedule bills to be paid from your card at different times of the month instead of paying them all at once to give you better cash flow.
5. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t perform perfectly the first month or tow. Getting used to following a budget takes time.Be persistent and you’ll succeed.
6. Set aside a portion of your budget for fun. Reward yourself for reaching your budget goals. It gives you something to look forward to!
7. Pre-paid cards for each member of the household gives them a feeling of taking charge of their money and also teaches them about budgeting.
8. Give the kids a re-loadable Visa®  card and then load it up with their allowance monthly. They’ll learn how far their dollar goes.
9. 50% of Americans have less than one month of savings saved for emergencies. Direct deposit a set amount into a re-loadable card every month and set it aside for emergencies.
10. Set up electronic payments for your bills directly from your pre-paid card. No more lost or stolen check and you can easily view which bills are paid online.

Learn more about the benefits of prepaid cards here

This is a sponsored post for which I am being paid.  Nevertheless, I do not post material that I do not feel fits this blog so please read and decide if this works for you!  Information in this post was provided to me for the posting.