When people make mention of managing money, it usually includes an app. Talking about budgeting apps, expense tracking apps, and spreadsheets consumes the vast majority of the conversation. But not everyone is interested in tracking their money on a screen. In fact, to many people just getting started, finance apps can feel complicated and overwhelming. There is another way to establish money habits that feels more natural and grounded. That way is through physical, hands on tools that you can actually touch.
Consider it. Writing things out is more likely to stick. Watching your savings jar fill up with actual cash is much more inspiring than seeing a number on the screen. Real, physical tools make tracking your money tangible and trackable, particularly to beginners who want something simply to start with. In this guide we will discuss the science behind physical tools, a few options for you to try, and how you could combine them with digital if you want to straddle both worlds.
The Psychology of Touch — Why Physical Tools Work
There is a very powerful psychological reason as to why, as it relates to your brain, working with physical tools benefits your money situation. Behavioral science has shown that when it comes to behavior change and habit building, working with one or more senses to alter your behavior becomes a more solidified habit. Writing down numbers by hand, touching actual cash, or moving sticky notes from left to right on a board all enhance your awareness – you make the money more concrete vs. abstract.
When you swipe a card or tap your phone, money is “invisible” and in most cases, you don’t register it is gone. But, when you physically hand over cash, or write down every dime you spend, you can feel and appreciate the transaction. And that level of awareness does lead to better spending habits. Beginners especially benefit from the physical awareness of using cash or writing spend down, because in the early days of managing money, it is all about building a habits around discipline and awareness.
Core Non-Digital Tools for Beginners
Budget Binder or Cash Envelope System
The cash envelope system is among the simplest and oldest budgeting methods out there. You take your money and split it into envelops, labeled with various spending categories, such as groceries, rent, entertainment, and transportation. When you run out of money in an envelope, you stop spending in that category. This method gave you a built-in spending limit and will help you avoid overspending.
In contrast to loose envelopes, a budget binder is a more orderly version of the same idea. In a budget binder, you still keep your money or cash trackers in a binder with sections for money and expenses, which works incredibly well for those who appreciate order. In your money binder, you can also keep your expense logs and trackers and your receipts all in one place too. A fun tip, if you’re going to use a money budget binder, is to use different substitutive colors for each category so you can look at one page of money and see generally how much you have in a broad category.
Ledger Book or Budget Journal
Recording your expenditures may seem a bit antiquated, but it really does work. The idea is to have a ledger book or budget journal where you record every single purchase, along with all forms of income and your savings goal. This tiny practice each day will keep you connected with your money. It will force you to slow down and review what you are doing with your cash.
The practice of writing down your expenses at the end of the day for a few minutes can make a big difference. Some people also like using bullet journals for this. Planning out your own layout with trackers and notes and reminders will allow you to make money management personal, creative and inspiring. Your journal also has the flexibility of an app, but is more easily customizable to your needs.
Printable Budget Trackers
Another great tool is a printable budget tracker. It can be a log for tracked weekly spending, a monthly expense sheet, or a sheet to put money aside for a savings goal. The great part about these printables is that you can hang them up where you can see them. By hanging one up near your fridge or at your desk, as you come across them every day, it exposes you to your goal and helps you to maintain focus in your budgeting.
There are lots of free or reasonably priced trackers online, and some even have customizable designs, from minimal to colorful. Another surprisingly gratifying experience is seeing your progress fill up on paper during your budgeting process while waiting to save or roll-over to your next goal.
Visual Goal Trackers
When you have something in mind to save for, whether it is for a vacation or a new laptop or I’d like to build some savings for future emergencies, a visual progress tracker can help keep you on track and motivated. Think about a thermometer that you color in as you are able to save money, or a progress bar that you can track on a wall chart. These things are especially powerful when there are multiple people involved; families or roommates. This will engage everyone to see the end goal and to add to the progress.
When you color in the progress, it may seem trivial, but it emotionally attaches you to the goal. It makes saving into a game and if you’re not doing this on your own, it holds everybody accountable.
Whiteboard or Corkboard System
A whiteboard or corkboard is an ideal money tool that allows for greater flexibility of use. You may use it to note down bills due, dates of incomes, and pay off debts. For example, consider writing down your monthly bills on sticky notes, and you move the sticky note to the “paid” section of your chart/board after you pay it. This thus creates an easy and clear visual system that changes in real time. More importantly it’s reusable, so you do not need to worry about waste. You reset your board every month and can do so easily, no worries about wasting paper. Further, by using a board or notes, you manipulate and create progress by hand which is easier to reinforce than by looking at a digital reminders.
Tools for Learning and Planning
Financial Workbooks
For beginners, guided workbooks can be a real help. These tend to follow along a workbook style with exercises for writing goals, budgeting practice, or answering discussion questions. The workbook offers a structure for ongoing learning and allows for practical money skill learning.
Common guided workbooks tend to be offered by prominent finance educators, and it generally isn’t necessary to purchase a workbook to get started. You can often find financial learning guides published by a local library. You can also create a DIY workbook, fountaining the worksheets from free resources online, printing them off, and putting them in a folder or loose-leaf binder.
Paper Planners with Budget Sections
A planner with budgeting sections helps you experience daily life planning with financial tracking. This is reasonable given the close relationship between lifestyle and money. Having your spendings documented visually with planned appointments and tasks will assist you to more ‘clearly’ see your options.
This type of undated planner can be especially helpful because you can start at anytime in the year – you are not beholden to the templates of an app. Having an undated planner means that you can always modify and adapt it to your own personal rhythm.
Analog Tools for Saving and Motivation
Sinking Fund Jars or Boxes
A sinking fund jar is nothing more than a container labeled for a specific purpose, say, “car maintenance,” “holiday gifts,” or “vacation.” Every time you save, you put cash in the jar. As time goes on, the jar fills up, and you know that cash is earmarked for that reason.
This approach builds discipline and makes saving interesting. You can even use decorative jars or containers to create more excitement. A great family activity, it also illustrates the value of saving for goals for kids.
Vision Boards with Financial Goals
A vision board is both a creative tool and an accountability tool. You pull together images, quotes, visuals that are closely associated to the financial goals you want to achieve. It may be an image of a lifestyle with no debt, a vacation spot you dream of traveling to, or the home you desire to purchase. A vision board is something you can keep somewhere visible to you each day as a reminder to stay engaged and on track.
A vision board is much more than a tracker- it is about the emotion or the “why” behind your savings and budgeting, not just the “how.” For goal-driven, creative-minded people, this can be a motivating tool.
Where to Find These Tools Cheap
The great thing about physical money tools is that they shouldn’t have to cost much in general: Many can be created using some common materials. Dollar stores likely carry items like binders, envelopes, and notebooks. There are also lots of printable trackers available on Etsy, and free printable trackers online like Pinterest.
Libraries are another undervalued resource. Your local library likely has personal finance books, worksheets, or even take home guides you can use without any payment. Or, if you are a DIY kind of person, you can repurpose things you have at home. A shoebox can be a sinking fund box, or an old notebook can be your budget journal.
How to Combine Digital and Analog
You don’t need to choose between digital and analog. In fact, use them both together to achieve the best results. As an example, you could be using a notebook or an envelope system for tracking daily or due-day spending, every month you take everything and log it into a spreadsheet.
So now you have that feel or hand-on awareness from writing it down, while also taking advantage of digital summaries and long-term tracking. Apps and spreadsheets do not have to entirely replace physical tools; they can supplement them.
Keep It Real and Visible
You don’t need an app or sophisticated software to manage your money. Simple and effective money management tools for beginners are often physical items you can visualize. Writing things down, using envelopes, or seeing your savings jar fill up make money feel real like digital tools can’t do.
The secret is to start small. Choose one tool that feels good for you. It may be a printable tracker, a notebook, or a jar. You don’t need the perfect system to get started. The important thing is that you take the first step.
