If you’ve ever wondered whether physical cash or digital envelope apps actually help you stick to a budget better — the answer is: it depends on what you’re fighting.

Real cash creates friction. You feel it leave your hands. It makes you pause before spending — especially when you’re using a cash envelope system you reset every month.

Digital envelopes (like the sub-accounts in Chime) make it easier to budget consistently without hauling around paper envelopes or a calculator. You don’t get the same “pain of paying,” but you do get more automation and convenience.

If you’re trying to build habits, go cash.
If you’re trying to stick with it long-term, go digital (or hybrid).

See how to make both methods work — without feeling like you’re stuck in 2003:
Cash Envelope Budgeting: How to Make It Work Without Living in 2003