sewing a wallet = saving money

Two weekends ago, I gathered some lineny canvas leftovers and cotton twill scraps, salvaged floral print bias binding, a leftover piece of leather strap, a couple brass zippers, a brass stud, etc. and made myself an envelope system wallet:

If you're familiar with Dave Ramsey's The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness, then you know its purpose:

 "I found out that Grandma's way to handle money still works. People used to always use cash envelopes to control their monthly spending, but very few do in today's card swiping culture. The envelope system is a key component of the Total Money Makeover plan because it works." 
~Dave Ramsey

The pattern I adapted is by Walter + Veronica, and can be found here, very inexpensively.

There are lots of pockets to keep you organized!  I only used four pouches--2 open and 2 zippered--since that is enough for my purposes.  For the open pockets, I just finished the top edges with some brown, 1/4-inch bias binding.  Short pieces of twill tape were stitched on the front of each pocket and labeled with a permanent ink marker. 

I used a scrap of leather and a brass stud for a closure.

Let the 'money makeover' begin!