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Home » Printables

Free Cash Envelope Templates – Printable

Published: Mar 4, 2016 · Modified: Feb 1, 2023 by Ginny · This post may contain affiliate links.

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This free cash envelope template has been a LONG time coming! I wanted something super cute in a convenient shape that made it easy to just peek into your wallet and count out what you need from each envelope without having to actually remove it from your wallet.

Free Budget Printables: Free cash envelope template that will fit in your wallet! No special tools required - just download the free template, and cut and fold to make your envelopes for your cash envelope system!
Free Cash Envelope Template
Contents hide
1 What’s The Purpose Of The Cash Envelopes?
2 Why Having A Budget Is Important
3 How To Get Started Using Your Cash Envelopes
4 What Categories Should I Use For Cash Envelopes?
5 How to Make the Cash Envelopes

And I was SO CLOSE to getting it right, but things just weren’t lining up correctly, so they’ve been on the back burner ever since. I was inspired to try them again recently, and I think the graphic design program I use finally took pity on me, because it finally worked out!

And here they are… at last! I’ve included two designs and a tutorial with step-by-step instructions below!

What’s The Purpose Of The Cash Envelopes?

I want to introduce the concept of cash envelopes because you will see that there is a great purpose for them. As you organize your money and make a budget, you’ll quickly figure out how much you ACTUALLY spend in each area of your life. It’s great to know it, even if you don’t really like the answer. 😁

If you don’t stick to a fairly strict budget, it is easy to blow through money, and it’s gone in no time. Guess what happens then? You get stressed, and then the entire family ends up stressed. 

Free Budget Printables: Free cash envelope template that will fit in your wallet! No special tools required - just download the free template, and cut and fold to make your envelopes for your cash envelope system!

You can use these cash envelopes to sort your money based on your planned budget.  It is easy to see exactly how much you have for each category. These cash envelopes templates will easily slide into a large wallet. Then you can thumb through until you find the envelope you are looking for and pay for your purchase. Especially if you are new to budgeting, paying cash typically makes it easier to keep track of spending than credit cards.

Many of us are visual learners and have to see something to understand it. When you place a certain amount of money in these envelopes, you can see exactly how much you have. There is no question, and it makes it much more real. Trust me, it hurts to lay out cash…

It’s way too easy to take out a piece of plastic to pay for all your purchases. Then you have interest and other charges that can eat you alive. Use the cash envelopes and adhere to a budget, and you’ll be thanking yourself later. 

Why Having A Budget Is Important

When you have a budget, you will be able to see exactly where your hard-earned dollars go. There is no second-guessing, overspending and buying large purchases you can’t afford – or in my case, it was a lot of small purchases that just added up! If you’re trying to get out of debt, then it’s vital to keep and stick to a strict budget. Here are a few reasons to have a budget:

  • You’ll make smarter choices with your money. For example, let’s say you allot $100 on entertainment each month. You may not be able to afford to go to the movies, several concerts, and other events. So, you’ll need to make a decision to find the entertainment that fits within your budget. It’s all about choices, right? 
  • It allows you to see how you spend money. Sometimes it’s a rude awakening to see how you actually spend money. Think about how long you have to spend working to make every dollar. Then if you blow it right away on things you don’t really need, it makes it hard to stay out of debt. Using a fine-tooth comb to really look over your spending habits by using a budget will make you see what you want to adjust. 
  • Budgeting helps you save money for bigger things. Do you want to buy a new house, a car, take a vacation, or spend money on something else that’s larger? Guess what; when you stick to a budget, it helps your goals become obtainable. You’ll automatically be putting money aside each pay period for that large item, and it will add up fast. I use a fun penny challenge game to help me scrounge additional money each year.  It is fun and great to get your family involved.
  • You can finally start an emergency fund. You don’t have to put tons of money in it to start, but a few dollars out of your budget should go to an emergency fund. This will save you lots of headaches down the road when problems do arise. And I promise, there will always be something that happens. It could be as simple as a hot water heater going out, but it could be more serious like a death in the family. Either way, it’s better to be prepared, and this is a great way to make that happen. 
Fun Printable with the Yearly Goal and some Pennies to get the Savings Started
Tape this Handy Printable to your Penny Jar or set it on the counter next to it. It is a great daily reminder of your savings goal!

How To Get Started Using Your Cash Envelopes

First of all, when you first start out, this can be a little stressful. Its normal because you are trying to use a new system and change behaviors. New systems take a little bit to work out the kinks. Just don’t give up! Allow yourself some mistakes, brush them off, and keep on trying. It will get MUCH easier as it goes along, I promise. Follow these steps to get started:

glass jar spilling loose change
What are you spending money on?
  • Figure out what you have been spending on. You can’t start a budget or cash envelope system without already seeing where your money is going. Track it all. Every penny you spend! Write down and keep track of it. Then you’ll see where you can cut certain expenses. Are you spending too much on food? Could you cut back and eat some frugal meals instead? There are endless possibilities on where you can cut back and repurpose your money. For me, it was scary to see how much I spent at the local coffee shop each month – REALLY scary!
  • Plan your budget. If you haven’t done so already, plan how much you think you should spend in each category. You need to figure out how much money to reserve for each. Write everything out in black and white so you can see every detail. Label each reason for your spending, whether it’s on food, entertainment, insurance, and so on. Writing it out is key as you’re much more likely to follow it.
  • Decide how long your budget goes for. Are you planning to budget weekly since you get paid weekly?  Or is it easier for you to plan out the entire month? Not only do you need to think about when money is going out, but also when it’s coming in. 
  • Get it all into categories. After you have planned a budget and you know what you have been spending money on, it’s time to categorize it. Once you have your categories figured out, label the envelopes from these templates, place your allotted money in each envelope and start managing it. 

Helpful Tip: If you want to read more about the envelope budgeting system, check out Dave Ramsey’s article. It helped me a lot!

What Categories Should I Use For Cash Envelopes?

The easy answer is that it depends.  The better answer is that you should categorize spending based on your needs and spending habits. So there are no wrong answers. You want what’s best for you and your family. Here are some basic ideas of categories we use:

  • Monthly Expenses – Reserve funds for all of your regular expenses like vehicle payments, mortgage, utility bills, and so on. Those are the most important to get out of the way before you stuff the envelopes. 
  • Emergency Fund – The second thing you need to set money back for is your emergency fund. This doesn’t need to go in an envelope, but if you use it as a temporary holding, that’s great.  Ultimately, it should find its way to the bank. 
  • Food – Odds are you will be spending a fair amount of money in this category. Put the amount of your budget in that envelope and shop accordingly. Buy things on sale, make pasta and other homemade food, to stretch your money as far as you can. 
  • Hair & Beauty – If you get your hair and nails done, and plan to keep it in the budget, make sure to have a category for it. 
  • Entertainment – This could be anything from hitting an amusement park, going to the movies, or going to the mall and splurging at the food court. 
  • Gas & Car Maintenance – Yes, you will need to set aside money for gas. It’s expensive, and you need to have an envelope to track how much you can spend. Plus, you will need to maintain your vehicle too. 
  • Clothing & Shoes – You don’t have to spend a lot on clothing, but someone is always going to need something. A new shirt for a band concert, basketball shoes, the list goes on. 
  • Dining Out – You will have nights when you don’t have time to cook. So allow yourself some money to grab some food or dine with friends. You need to be able to have a little fun every once in a while. 
  • Misc. – Having a miscellaneous category is nice because if you need to use the money on something unexpected, it’s right there for you. 

These are just a few ideas, but you can seriously choose any category that fits your needs. Try it out and see what works for you. Once you have a system in place, you are going to feel so much better about money! 

How to Make the Cash Envelopes

Folded Cash envelope in front of a wallet.  It is labeled Groceries Week 1 and has a ten dollar bill in it

You’ll Need:

Printed envelope template with the items needed to put it together: scissors, tape and a ruler
  • Printed Cash Envelope Template Printed on 8.5×11” Paper (download links at the bottom of post)
  • A ruler or something rigid to bend the paper against (A tabletop edge would work well too)
  • Scissors or a paper cutter
  • Tape to secure the flaps

Tips:

  • Use a light cardstock for extra durability but nothing too heavy – the one I used was a bit too heavy for this project. You can use regular printer paper, but they won’t be as sturdy.
  • Print at 100% to ensure that the template will be large enough to accomodate cash.
Printed envelope template with sequential numbers for the order to fold in order to create an envelope.

Start by cutting along the border of the cash envelope template. I’ve labeled this picture with sections to make it easier to follow along with which section to fold and when.

Folding the template along a straight edge to make a sharp bend

Pre-fold the template at the horizontal lines. Place a ruler at the line and gently push the paper up against the ruler. Do this for all horizontal lines.

All of the straight edges of the envelope are folded and it is ready for final assembly

Lay the envelope flat on a table so the design is facing you, then fold section four (the bottom section) underneath section three (the middle section).

in process shot of the envelope being folded

Fold section three underneath section two.

third step in folding the flaps across the printed template in order to form the envelope

Fold section one behind section two (the label area is at the front). You’ll see an overhang of section four (with the design facing you) behind section two.

rolled tape on the final flap.  when it is folded across the body of the template, it will secure it in place and form the envelope.

Roll a small piece of tape so the ends touch to create the double-sided tape. Cut the tape in half lengthwise (you should have two skinny pieces… you’ll use one for each flap). Place a piece of tape at the center of each flap (sections five), then fold back (onto section three) and press firmly so the tape adheres.

Photo of the flap taped and secured to the body of the envelope
The completed envelope with a few dollars to help with your budgeting.

And now, all that’s left to do is label your cash envelope! You can just handwrite the labels like I did or upload the template into a photo editor like PicMonkey to create a custom label with a pretty font. The cash will peek out slightly but is protected by the overhang on the back. I wanted to be able to easily see the cash inside without having to reach in for it completely, so that’s why I designed the template with a lip at the back.

Free Budget Printables: Free cash envelope template that will fit in your wallet! No special tools required - just download the free template, and cut and fold to make your envelopes for your cash envelope system!

I created two templates … a modern one with black dots and a softer design with branches and leaves as well.

To download, just click the link below and right-click to save the image to your computer. Be sure to print at 100% rather than having the printer “size to fit.”

Cash Envelope Template Download:

I’ve tried them in three wallets that I own and the envelopes fit in all of them, but are a bit snug in one wallet. As long as your wallet has a bit of extra room on the side of your cash, it’ll most likely fit in pretty easily. Hope you enjoy them! Please let me know if you try them and tag me on Instagram so I can see yours in use!

more free printables category
Free Cash Envelope Templates - Printable
« Creative Black Bean Dinner Ideas To Make Tonight!
Free Printable Mother’s Day Card »

About Ginny

Hi! My name is Ginny and I know how busy life can be! I am a mom working hard to prepare healthy meals for my family that is always on the go!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Diedra R Douglas says

    October 29, 2020 at 5:17 pm

    I downloaded the template and it’s not big enough. What can I do to make it bigger?

    Reply
    • Ginny says

      October 30, 2020 at 7:40 am

      Diedra, I’m sorry, that is the first time I’ve heard that! But have no fear!!! When you press PRINT the box will come up and look for the SCALE with the PERCENTAGE next to it. It should be already populated at 100%…..you need to increase it a bit if yours is coming in smaller in scale. So look at how small yours is coming in at and increase by 10-15% first and see how it goes. You may need to do it 1-2 times to get the right size for you. If you have trouble, email me at info@savorandsavvy.com and I can help you out. Keep me posted-Ginny

      Reply
    • Marsha Jones says

      January 03, 2021 at 5:59 am

      I have the same problem. I used the snipping tool and pasted it in a word document. I then formatted it and made it nice and big. It came out great!

      Reply
  2. Diane taber says

    March 10, 2020 at 8:01 am

    Hi just want to stop this life of feeling like you’re like a rat in a wheel.and going no where quick.with life and just can’t seem to keep money in your pocket.once you’ve paid all your bills and only to find your still in debt.

    Reply
  3. Kayla Jenkins-Medina says

    February 11, 2020 at 3:57 pm

    Thank you so much for this! The instructions seems straight forward. I’ve been wanting to do cash envelopes for a long time but just didn’t know where to start.

    Reply
    • Ginny says

      February 12, 2020 at 4:30 pm

      Awesome! So glad you found them! Let us know how they work out! We love feedback so keep it coming! 🙂

      Reply
  4. Darlene says

    August 19, 2018 at 7:16 pm

    I printed the horizontal cash envelope and it’s not wide enough for money to go in.

    Can you help me with this? I would appreciate it.

    Reply
  5. Stephanie C says

    December 27, 2017 at 3:20 pm

    I used this as a template to make my envelopes out of heavy card stock. I used hot glue instead of tape to secure the edges and punched holes so they fit inside my Recollections personal planner. They came out perfect! I plan on using washi tape to secure a small ledger to the back so I can track my spending. Thank you for the print out! This is my first time trying the cash envelope system and I’m so excited to get started and hopefully get my budget under control ?

    Reply
  6. Julie says

    December 11, 2016 at 10:15 am

    I love these! I just printed them and can’t wait to replace my raggedy bank envelopes with these 🙂

    Reply
  7. Amy says

    September 07, 2016 at 12:40 pm

    Do you have just the template, with no design?

    Reply
    • Jazmin Rode says

      September 07, 2016 at 11:18 pm

      I only have the designs that are linked in this post. 🙂

      Reply
  8. Tricia says

    August 14, 2016 at 2:51 pm

    I love your design, but when I printed it came out 5 1/8 in length but a dollar bill is 6inches in length. Is this what you wanted? i would rather not fold my bills, Any suggestions?
    thanks

    Tricai

    Reply
    • Jazmin Rode says

      August 17, 2016 at 1:46 pm

      This may be due to the borderless settings on your printer. I printed mine borderless and it fits a dollar bill without folding. I know not everyone has a borderless printer, so I’ll will try to work up another template that addresses this issue! 🙂

      Reply
  9. Brenda Hernandez says

    July 13, 2016 at 5:05 pm

    Jazmin,

    This is awesome! I just completed one of my own and showed my coworkers how pretty it was. I really wanted to try my hand at the cash system and am very excited to finally be able to do with absolutely free! I plan on putting cash in these and paperclip a piece of paper to track what I spend. I’m super happy!

    Reply
    • Jazmin Rode says

      August 17, 2016 at 1:58 pm

      I’m so glad that you’re giving them a try! Love the paperclip idea. I wanted to try to add a grocery list to the back of the template, but may do so with future version! 🙂

      Reply
  10. Latoya @ Femme Frugality says

    March 04, 2016 at 10:46 am

    These are super cute and definitely more affordable than some of the cash envelopes I’ve seen on the market. I’m always mesmirized by those with enough discipline to use cash on all their purchases.

    Reply
    • Jazmin Rode says

      March 04, 2016 at 1:50 pm

      Thank you! I am as well and really admire their discipline!

      Reply

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Family Photo Hi! I'm Ginny and for over 30 years, I've been creating simple and easy recipes without sacrificing on taste for our family on the go. I can't wait to show you how to do the same for your family. Read More...

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