Cute Retro Wallet for Cash Envelope Budgeting

Ta da! The finished product.

Several years ago, Mr. Jennifer and I discovered the Dave Ramsey method of financial management, and it revolutionized our lives. We followed the baby steps to get out of debt and be on our way to financial peace.

What's that old anecdote about couples only fighting about money, sex, and kids? Well, we  actually found out that when we were unified financially, we became closer and more unified overall as a couple. One down out of three things to fight about ain't bad. Just kidding, honey!

The basic money management Dave Ramsey advises is using a cash envelope system. It's so easy to overspend and lose track of money when using plastic. Of course you can still use your debit card, but cut up the credit cards and get yourself a cash wallet you can use for many of your daily expenses. Even just making this small change will make a huge difference in your life.

So. My old homemade wallet was falling apart, so when I found a pattern for only $1.50 for this darling little thing on Craftsy.com (I just discovered this website), I decided to take on the project. To clarify, I am NOT craftsy, but I do enjoy sewing. I took a home ec class in high school, but I'm pretty much a self-taught sewer. So if I can do it, so can you! (Keep reading! more pictures below)

The bottom card pocket was designed with a window for
a driver license, but I just made it a regular pocket.

You could also use this wallet for coupons or take out a couple of the envelopes and use it like a regular wallet. I had leftovers from 3/4 total yards of two kinds of oil cloth (had to learn what that was too), and with my 40% fabric store coupon I spent about $6 on fabric and probably 40 cents on Velcro. And I can continue to use the pattern if I wanted to make this cute wallet for all my friends. So be nice to me. Santa is watching.

Thanks to only two bolts of oil cloth on the shelf at Joann, my design kind of picked itself, but I love the funky, retro feel of these colors and patterns together. Let me know if you make one of these too! I'd love to see how yours turns out.

I used Velcro to close the envelopes since I am zipper-phobic.

This is a pocket to hold your checkbook. I like it for receipts also.

View from the top with wallet completely open.

View from the side of eight cash envelopes. The pattern called for
six, but I needed two more. They look puffy here,
but they compress when the wallet is closed.