Digital cash stuffing
Cash stuffing, for the part of your budget that isn’t cash.
Cash envelopes work. The trouble is the bills that never touch cash: autopay, subscriptions, the online order, the place that only takes cards. Minturn Money gives those the same envelope — funded first, spent second, and no bank login.
10 envelopes free, no card · works offline
Example figures. The binder keeps the categories where cash works; the app takes the ones where it cannot — and both are funded from the same paycheck, before it is spent.
Where cash cannot go
Keep the binder. Cover the gaps.
Nothing here replaces the ritual of counting out a paycheck. It picks up the spending that was never going to fit in an envelope with a zipper.
Autopay & bills
Rent, phone, insurance. Fund the envelope on payday; when the bill drafts, log it against it.
Subscriptions
Streaming, apps, memberships. One envelope, so a quiet price rise shows up as a short envelope.
Online & card-only
Orders, tickets, the parking meter that wants a card. Same envelope, same rule.
The partner without a binder
A shared workspace and their own spending limit, on Ultimate. No envelopes to carry.
The same three moves
It works the way stuffing does.
Stuff
Payday money lands in one pool. Hand it out to envelopes until every dollar has a job — exactly like counting bills into a binder.
Spend
Buy something, log it against its envelope. The balance falls, and what is left is what you can still spend.
Swap
Short in one, spare in another? Move money across, on purpose. When an envelope is empty, that category is done.
What the app adds
A few things paper cannot do.
- Sinking funds that roll over month to month, so the Christmas or car envelope keeps filling
- Budget periods that start on your payday — weekly, biweekly or twice a month (Premium)
- One bar per envelope that shows spent, left and overspent at a glance
- Home-screen shortcuts on iPhone that log a regular purchase in one tap — one on Free, four on Premium
- Works offline, and your budget stays on your device unless you turn sync on
1–31 Aug
7 days left
100%
$2,670.00 of $2,670.00
90%
$2,405.78
$0.00
$2,405.78 spent of $2,670.00 · ahead of pace
$1,650.00 spent · $0.00 available
$1,650.00
target
$412.38 spent · $227.62 available
$640.00
target
$96.50 spent · $83.50 available
$180.00
target
$246.90 spent · $46.90 over budget
$200.00
target
Questions from cash stuffers.
Do I have to give up my cash envelopes?
No. Plenty of people run both: physical envelopes for the categories that suit cash, and digital envelopes for the ones that cannot be paid in cash at all. Minturn Money is built for the second half, and is happy to stay out of the first.
Does it connect to my bank to see my card spending?
No. You log a purchase yourself, against the envelope it comes out of, the same way you would pull bills out of a real envelope. It takes a few seconds, and nobody gets your bank login.
Can I record cash spending too?
Yes, if you want one picture of everything — a purchase is a purchase, whichever way you paid. Or leave the cash categories in the binder and only budget the rest here. Both work.
What about sinking funds?
An envelope can carry its balance from one month to the next, so a sinking fund for the car, gifts or an annual bill fills a little every payday and is ready when the cost lands. Free includes two savings goals; Premium makes them unlimited.
Is it free?
The free tier gives you 10 envelopes and 50 transactions a month, with no card and no time limit. Premium removes the limits and adds cloud sync and paycheck-aligned budget periods, with a 14-day trial.
Can my partner use it with me?
Yes, on Ultimate: a shared workspace that up to four others can join, each with their own spending limit if you want one. It is the digital version of handing someone an envelope — for the partner who will not carry a real one.
More on paycheck budgeting: budgeting a biweekly paycheck and what to set aside for Christmas each payday.
Keep the envelopes. Add the rest.
Free to start, no card, no bank login. 14 days of Premium if you want it.
Never Summer Mountains · mark byzewski, CC BY 2.0
