A quick history lesson: Once the term "money" referred to a coin or a bill that represented a certain amount of work that had been done and could be exchanged for goods and services. People used to fill their pockets with these filthy green bills that had been passed all over the country and used for who-knows-what-else along the way. People with numerous and varied expenses who needed a way to be sure the correct number of bills were paid to debtors and benefactors on a regular basis devised a system known as "envelope budgeting". Pretty self-explanatory -- an envelope for each expense (food, horses, candles, quills etc.).

Flash forward into the future, where "money" refers to an individual's purchasing power based largely on a digitized history of work hours logged, wise investments made and valuables appraised. When you need to get goods or services now, it's often digital, whether through credit cards or the internet. Sounds easy enough, but with so many transactions coming and going and in so many different directions, it's easy to lose track of your finances.

Sometimes old ideas are the best ideas, like a sandwich, a wheel, a string quartet--like envelope budgeting.

Money Folders is envelope budgeting without the envelopes! Set up envelopes in your PC for different expenses (food, car insurance, energy bills, internet etc.) so when money comes in, it automatically gets put to good use.