How to Make a Cash Binder: 2 Types of DIY Cash Stuffing Binders

Cash binder system 

I have two binders. One, this is the one that I use that I keep at home regarding just petty cash or my emergency funds, travel, and things like that. 

The first little binder I got at Staples. It is from the Martha Stewart line and has a ring system. I love having the ring system just because then I can kind of change things out. It's kind of fun. 

The second binder is also a line that Staple offers but I got this binder for $2.99 at Goodwill, which was amazing. I didn't want to spend a ton of money. So if you can and you have a ring system already, utilize the resources and the tools that you have. 

Cash stuffing binder

Emergency cash

In my binder, I have some little dividers. Again, I already have these on hand. So I just really am utilizing a lot of the supplies that I had. I like it because it has some pockets. I'll probably add a few things in there.

Here, one of the things that I like to do is always have emergency cash on hand. I do have an emergency fund within an actual bank, which holds most of my money. 

One thing I have learned over the last couple of years is that things happen if you don't have extra cash, or you need cash just for groceries, or we had our power go out for ten days and I'm so thankful I had petty cash because we didn't have access to our ATMs. So I always make sure to have emergency petty cash on hand. So that's one thing that I have. 

Christmas fund section

I've got a Christmas fund. That's one of my big goals right now. I've kind of fallen behind on Christmas savings. My three-part goal for the next couple of months is to make sure I always have a lot in my emergency fund. I'm paying off debt and then also building up my Christmas fund for December. 

Travel

I have an envelope for travel and I’m still working on a few of the envelopes for what I want to do.

Keep it simple. Make it fit you and your lifestyle and what is going to be user-friendly. Don't make it too complicated because if you got 15 or 20 or 30 envelopes, it's going to be frustrating and time-consuming. It's going to be overwhelming. 

So just start with just a few, like three to five envelopes, or the little binder set. Whatever works for you. So this is the one that I always keep at home and I highly encourage you guys to do that.

If you've got a lot more cash on hand, keep it in a safe because if it is lost, that's a lot of money to lose. I do have another bank that holds most of my savings accounts. This is just something that I do keep on hand. 

On-the-go binder

Here is another binder that I utilize for on-the-go petty cash. This is what I take with me. It's in my backpack.

I love this one. It's got some pockets. I've got some business cards and my receipts. I do utilize a little bit of the Happy Planner system. They have these fun little sheets. It's the ring system.

I love these because you can track your expenses. You can say, okay, what is my weekly focus? No spending or you can do bills to pay, things like that. You can also create your own off of Canva. 

A couple of categories that I always have are food and gas.

I also have just my fun money in here.

This is just a few bucks for giving.

So these little dividers again you can get at Staples, I love them. The dividers are helpful. 

This has been a work in progress for me. I did just basic envelopes for a very long time, and that is so okay. If you are on the budget do what works for you guys. Create a system. You can also just get little photo album dividers or little photo albums from the dollar store. That also works great.  

As I said, one does go on the road with me to work or in my backpack, and then one will stay home in a safe or cabinet.

How to make a cash binder

I hope this gives you a little bit of an idea for you of how you can create your cash envelope system. If you're on a budget, just grab some envelopes.

You can even grab just little envelopes from your bank. Just write down the category, and make it simple. I try to utilize all of the resources that I already had in my bucket of crafts and happy planner stuff. 

What are your goals for this next month? Three months? Year, five years? Put a comment below. We'd love to hear what your financial goals are and what steps you are taking to accomplish them.