What is cash stuffing? TikTok’s budgeting trend explained

“Cash stuffing” has become a viral trend on TikTok (opens in new tab), reaching more than 700 million views. Similar to Dave Ramsey’s envelope system (opens in new tab), cash stuffing involves sorting your cash money into various categories in an effort to save money by avoiding overspending. While there are already many digital budgeting apps on the market, cash stuffing works for those who prefer a hands-on approach. It seems that physically sorting their cash is helping Gen Z towards financial stability.  

What is cash stuffing?

Cash stuffing is a form of budgeting using physical cash. Before starting, you’ll first need to come up with a budget for how your cash is going to be allocated. Each paycheck is cashed out and then funds are sorted or “stuffed” into envelopes for different spending categories, like rent, groceries or vacation savings. Usually, the envelopes fit into a small binder, where they’re each labeled with their appropriate category. Amazon (opens in new tab) even has an array of “cash stuffing” sets available to make getting started easy. Cash stuffing is a great solution for those who have trouble with impulsive buying and overconsumption. You can’t simply swipe your card anymore, instead you’ll have to pull cash out of the appropriate envelope. Plus, by being aware of where each dollar is being spent each month, you’ll relieve the stress of mental budgeting (opens in new tab).  

Pros/cons of cash stuffing

Pros:

• Helps relieve stress relating to finances
• Prevents unnecessary purchases and overspending 
• Makes budgeting tangible and concrete – helping you stick to your finance goals
• Helps you to be more mindful of how you’re spending each month

Cons:

• Time-consuming method of budgeting
• Less protection for your money
• No interest earned on cash
• Can be more difficult to pay certain bills, like rent and utilities, with cash instead of online payments with a card

Bottom line