Several weeks ago I made these laminated file dividers to organize coupons and receipts in my wallet as a budget plan tool. They’re very easy to make and I just used what I had on hand: regular white envelopes, repositionable tabs and stickers.
I measured out what size to cut the envelopes so they would fit in my wallet when it was zipped shut, allowing for room for my tab, of course! I fired up my laminator and found I could fit three dividers per laminator sheet. After they cooled I cut and trimmed them. It was easy and then two of my sisters and my mom all wanted me to make them a set, too.
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We don’t use the Dave Ramsey system for budgeting, though I do recommend it. I do believe it works. I’m using my divider cards to use in place of Dave’s “cash envelope system”. I have to use credit cards for most of my shopping at this time so I save my receipts as my record of what has been bought.
I did set a challenging grocery budget for our family beginning in January, $50 a week. I’m not sure it’s going to work. I count January as a “trial month” . This month, February, will reveal better whether this will be a doable budget for our family of four.
How to make Laminated Wallet File Dividers
What I used:
- white envelopes trimmed according to fit
- repositionable tabs (see a variety here)
- stickers (optional)
- laminator (here is one)
- laminator sheets
- scissors
- paper cutter (here is one)
Again, I had all of this on hand. A paper cutter will give you a nice straight cut but you can just use scissors if you want. Before I wrote my categories on my tabs I made a list of what categories I wanted. Remember to label your tabs with your categories before you run them through the laminator. Another option would be to laminate your dividers and then use a dry erase marker on them to label your categories so you can change them from time to time.
I use my laminated file dividers to organize my receipts and coupons as I wish. Since making these my sister gave me her old wallet and it has an area for coupons so I can either keep all of mine in one place or break them down into the divided categories. You can see how they fit in my original wallet here.
Do you use any special methods for budgeting that works best for you?
