Master Envelope Budgeting
in 60 Days
Discover the proven method that helps you take complete control of your money. Learn the principles, see real examples, and start your journey to financial confidence.
The Purpose Budget Method
Four simple principles that transform how you think about money. Master these, and you'll never worry about overspending again.
Every Dollar Has a Purpose
Before you spend anything, assign every dollar to a specific envelope. Rent, groceries, savings—everything gets a purpose. No money sits around wondering what it's for.
Example in Action
You get paid $3,000. Immediately assign: $1,200 to rent, $400 to groceries, $300 to savings, $500 to car payment, and so on until you've assigned all $3,000. Now every dollar has a job.
Plan for Everything
Break down large, irregular expenses into monthly amounts. Instead of being surprised by annual insurance or car repairs, set aside money each month to be ready.
Example in Action
Your car insurance costs $600 annually. Create a "Car Insurance" envelope and add $50 every month. When the bill comes, you're ready with $600 waiting.
Life Happens, Adjust Freely
When life throws you a curveball, adjust your envelopes instead of abandoning your budget. Moving money between envelopes keeps you in control.
Example in Action
Your car needs $200 in repairs, but your "Car Repair" envelope only has $50. Move $150 from "Dining Out" to "Car Repair" and you're covered—no budget broken.
Build Your Buffer
Aim to increase the time between earning money and spending it. This creates a buffer that reduces financial stress and breaks the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle.
Example in Action
Instead of spending January's paycheck in January, gradually build up enough savings so you're spending December's paycheck in January. Financial breathing room!
These principles work together to create a comprehensive system that gives you complete control over your finances while maintaining flexibility for life's unexpected moments.
Try Our Budget CalculatorTry Envelope Budgeting
See how envelope budgeting works with your actual numbers. Enter your income and expenses to create your first budget.
Your Monthly Budget
Your Envelope Budget
📊 Ready to Calculate
Fill in your income and expenses, then click "Calculate My Budget" to see your personalized envelope breakdown.
You'll see:
- • Percentage allocation per category
- • Visual progress bars
- • Remaining money to assign
- • Recommendations for improvement
Step-by-Step Learning Guides
Build your budgeting skills with comprehensive guides designed to take you from beginner to expert.
Your First Envelope Budget
Learn how to create your very first envelope budget from scratch, including setting up categories and making your first allocations.
Start Guide→Setting Up Categories That Work
Discover how to organize your budget categories in a way that matches your lifestyle and makes managing money simple.
Start Guide→Transaction Basics
Master the fundamentals of transactions - from manual entry to imports, categorization, transfers, and splits. Your complete transaction guide.
Start Guide→Connecting Your Bank Accounts
Learn how to securely connect your bank accounts with Plaid for automatic transaction imports. Premium feature with bank-level security.
Start Guide→Mastering Money Movement
Learn when and how to move money between envelopes to keep your budget flexible and responsive to life's changes.
Start Guide→Category Targets & Auto-Assign
Learn how to set funding targets for your categories and use intelligent auto-assign to automate your monthly budget allocation.
Start Guide→Recurring Transactions
Automate regular bills and income with recurring transactions. Set them up once and let Purpose Budget handle the rest.
Start Guide→Recurring Bills & Auto-Detection
Track recurring bills with manual templates, auto-detection from bank sync, smart matching, and calendar views. Essential and Premium features explained.
Start Guide→Budgeting with Irregular Income
Special strategies for freelancers, contractors, and anyone whose income varies from month to month.
Start Guide→Handling Debt in Your Budget
Integrate debt repayment into your envelope budget while still maintaining balance in other areas of your life.
Start Guide→Managing Multiple Spaces
Keep personal and business finances separate using Spaces. Learn when and how to use multiple budgets within one account.
Start Guide→Building Long-Term Wealth
Advanced strategies for using envelope budgeting to build substantial savings and investment portfolios over time.
Start Guide→Reports & Analytics
Unlock insights from your budget with powerful reports. Track spending trends, net worth over time, and category analysis. Premium feature.
Start Guide→Transaction Rules
Automate transaction categorization with smart rules. Save time and ensure consistency when importing transactions from your bank.
Start Guide→Reconciliation
Keep your budget in sync with your bank. Learn how to reconcile accounts monthly and catch discrepancies before they become problems.
Start Guide→Ready to dive deeper into envelope budgeting?
Start Your Free TrialReady to Transform Your Financial Life?
You've learned the principles and seen how it works. Now experience the full power of envelope budgeting with Purpose Budget.