Money Envelope Template

How to use the template maker

1. Choose what the envelopes are for. Budget envelopes are labeled with your spending categories, gift envelopes carry a message such as Happy Birthday and an optional To and From, and savings challenge envelopes are numbered.
2. Set the details. For a budget, tick the categories you want or add your own and choose whether to print a spending tracker on the flap side. For a gift, pick a message or write your own and choose how many to print. For a challenge, enter the first and last numbers and what each number is worth.
3. Choose a size. Cash fits bills lying flat. Mini fits bills folded once, coins or gift cards, and prints two per page.
4. Choose a color and a pattern, or tick "Ink saver" for black on white.
5. Print on US Letter at 100% scale with "Background graphics" on, then cut and fold.

How to fold a money envelope

1. Print at 100% scale on plain paper or card stock.
2. Cut on the solid line around the whole shape.
3. Crease every dashed line with the printed side facing out.
4. Fold the two side tabs in, then fold the bottom panel up over them. Glue or tape the tabs to the inside of the back.
5. Slip in the money and fold the rounded flap down. A sticker or a piece of tape keeps it shut.

The label sits on the smooth side of the finished envelope. On budget envelopes, the spending tracker is on the flap side, below the flap, so you can log each purchase.

Envelope sizes

Using envelopes for cash stuffing

Cash stuffing is envelope budgeting with real money: on payday, take out your spending money in cash and split it into one envelope per category. When the grocery envelope is empty, grocery spending is done until next payday.

• Start with 3 to 6 categories you usually overspend on, such as groceries, gas, dining out and fun money.
• Write each purchase in the tracker on the envelope so you know what's left without counting.
• Count the envelopes at the end of the month with the Cash Drawer Count Sheet, and roll what's left into savings.
• Saving toward a goal? Try the 100 envelope challenge with numbered envelopes from this page.

Tips for sturdier envelopes

• Try card stock. It holds up to repeated opening far better than printer paper, though very thick stock can be hard to fold.
• Score the dashed lines before you fold. Press along a ruler with a pen that has run out of ink for a crisp crease.
• Use a glue stick on the tabs. It dries flat and does not warp the paper the way liquid glue can.
• Print a test envelope first, then hold a real bill against it. If the pocket is too small, check that the print was at 100% scale.
• Print numbered envelopes in batches. The maker prints up to 200 at a time, so a 365 envelope challenge takes two batches.
• Store them upright in a small box or binder pocket, labels facing out, so you can find a category without emptying the stack.
• Keep only what you plan to spend soon in cash. Money you are saving is safer in a bank account than in an envelope at home.

Money envelope FAQ