Going to try the Envelope System

I am not a frequent poster here, but I do read most posts and love getting tips and ideas. I know some people use daily envelopes to help budget their bankroll. I am going to try this on our next trip, and wanted some feedback on the system I have come up with.

First, a little background on my "normal" Vegas trip. I have been 8 times (not nearly as many as a lot of you), and my typical practice is to bring most of my budget in cash - usually around $1500 for a week. I hope this will last me, but plan on a couple ATM trips if things go badly. I play quarter VP, some TP VP, and I also play cash and tourney poker. I usually don't set a strict daily budget, I just play from my bankroll, and any winnings just stay in the bankroll. I have never gone home with more than I came with, but also have never gone home totally broke! I also have never kept good records of my wins/losses - I usually start out doing this at the beginning of the week but do not stick with it (it is easier to track the wins than the losses!) The part of the envelope system that scares me the most is if I have a bad day and my $$ is gone by 10am (we are from the east coast and usually start our day about 5 am).

Our upcoming trip is June 19th (arrive at 9:30 am) through June 26th (leave at 6:00 pm) so I am budgeting for 8 days of gambling since the arrival and departure days are almost full days. We are staying 3 nights at Sam's town and then 4 nights at MSS (also have a stay at the Cal double booked to take advantage of some offers). All rooms are comped. We avoid the Strip.

I am budgeting $3k total for gambling, and here is how I plan to break it down:
8 envelopes with $250 each for VP
1 envelope with $400 for cash poker for the week
1 envelope with $400 for tourney poker for the week
1 envelope with $100 to use for match play coupons
1 envelope with $100 for my "Bad Day Envelope" (explained later)

My plan is that if I cash out a ticket, the "profits" go into an Go Home Envelope (GHE). The original buy in stays in my envelope for the day.
If I have a hit on VP of $100 or better, then half goes into the GHE, and half goes into the Bad Day Envelope (BDE). This envelope is money I can use if I have one of those days where my daily budget is gone early in the day. This way, I won't be tempted to dip into the GHE!
For cash and tourney poker, I will split any profits between the GHE and the BDE, and original buy in's stay in the envelope.
I am going to keep an index card in each envelope to track my wins/losses for the day.

My husband does not like leaving money in the safes, but I am going to leave the envelopes in there. Has anyone ever had an issue with leaving money in the hotel safes?

I also have a list of free or cheap things to do if my bankroll is running low for the day:
Go for a walk
Take a nap
Go for a swim or lay by the pool
Have a snack (in the room or use points or coupons)
People watch
Log on the LVA and read the message boards
Switch to 5 cent VP
Play 1 cent 50 play VP (I can usually play for a long time for $20)
Play video BJ (low volatility)
Find a low buy in poker tourney (can kill a few hours)
Go on coupon run and use FP and MP coupons
Redeem some points from my BConnected card for cash
Go see a cheap show using a coupon
Find a slot or VP tourney to play in
Get in car and drive to a different casino

So, I know this was a little long winded, but I would love any feedback on my system! Thanks!

If this is your plan go for it and don't let anyone or anything get in your way.
Before moving to Las Vegas I had 11 winning trips in a row following a similar plan. Some years have gone by and with the ability to make deposits to ATM depending on the location ..generally at a Bank this can be an enhancement...I am a believer of getting the money out of Dodge City as quickly as possible. I used to by money orders and placy one for whae them in a Birthday card and mail them to my self keeping the receipt. I would find a way to buy one ( what ever the cost was From(49 to a couple of dollars ) I remember coming home to lots of cards!!!!! I understand my weakness of having a saved of cash available to myself and it only takes one episode of being unbalanced and about 20 minutes to a half hour to loose what ever I had squirreled aside. I also would bring some bills that needed to be paid and would get money orders accordingly to cover these obligations. I get a kick out of the whole process . Oh How stupid I felt mailing out these cards and how nice it felt to have 7 or 8 cards when I got home........Now if I had a way to get to a bank that I had a card for I would just deposit the cash but this was not as easy at the time I used this method for myself.......Go for it work your plan and most of all Have Fun!!!!

KB: I think your plan looks pretty good.
I follow the envelope system when I go for 10 days in June/July. I divide out my total bankroll evenly between the 10 days, and cash out anytime I get a decent jackpot or whenever I win a bingo (I play bingo mostly during the trip). That goes in a separate envelope to bring home. I always use the room safes. You type in your own combination; just don't forget it.
I always bring home money that way for the next trip! It's never failed me.
Also, if I go through half my bankroll without any wins or in a short period of time I usually go do something different, even if it's back to my hotel to read one of the books I bring. Or shop (don't usually buy anything). Or take in a movie.
You can also do a day trip to Mount Charleston or Boulder City as a "free" thing. It's fun, gets you away from LV, and you see some different scenery. I always take one day to eat lunch at Mount Charleston; it's a wonderful break. Go to Boulder City to eat at the Coffee Cup Cafe…great burgers.
This time I'm going to go to the Pinball Museum on Tropicana-sounds like a fun, inexpensive time.

sounds like a plan. whatever works. I've never tried the in-room safes, but I have made cash deposits into the chase ATMs when I was winning a bit, not too often of course.

Your plan is very well thought out. I do envelopes also, and keep them in the room safe. It isn't so easy to maniacly play on when you have to go up to the safe (or send husband, even worse) for another envelope. Makes it easier to stop and do something on your free/cheap list.

Room safes are the safest place to stash your cash/envelopes. Never have had a problem.

Similar to your plan, I hit the cash out button with any good hit, such as in a bonus round. I tuck that TITO away and put a small bill back in to keep playing for a time. That lets me "test" the machine to see if it will hit again. If so, great and I keep cashing out any good hits, tucking away the TITOs. If not, I leave that machine. I'll save the TITOs until ready to leave that casino, or until the end of the day, or even until the end of the trip if I'm playing where I'm staying. (Sometimes I put them in the safe.)

So fun to cash those TITOs in right before leaving and see all that cash I saved, instead of beating myself up for playing back all my winnings! Kind of a psychological game, but it works.

Have a great trip!

Agree with vegasdev, whatever works.

I do something else. I'm a player but not a gambler, so my bankroll's small enough that I don't mind carrying it around.

At the beginning of the trip, I put my whole bankroll into a special area of my wallet. I also put live sports bets and active keno tickets in there. Then, as money comes and goes, it's easy for me to know how I stand for the trip at a moment's glance.

The idea of denying myself the ability to tap a share of my bankroll doesn't appeal to me. If I want to play, I'll play.

But if creating this elaborate set of rules helps you manage your money, I say great, there's certainly no harm in it.

I think your system sounds like a good one. Knowing where you are staying, here are a few things that always help me stretch my budget on some of my trips.

Poker Tournaments: There is a $23 buy-in tournament everyday right there at Sam's Town at 10:00 AM every morning. The first hour is limit then the rest of the hour is no-limit.

Poker Room in Sam's Town: On Tuesdays and Thursdays they have an aces cracked promotion that is really good. On Wednesdays and Sundays they have a promotion where if you get 3 heart flushes in a 6 hour period during the morning or evening you get $400. I haven't tried this yet, but plan to when I head there in July.

Video Poker: There is a set of triple play progressives that are 10 coin 2 cent or 60 cents a pull up by the Dunkin Doughnuts. I can play there a long time.

For non gambling, you can kill close to 3 hours on a roll of quarters at the pin ball hall of fame on Tropicana

Downtown: The poker room in Binions usually has a 2-4 limit poker game most days for some cheap poker.

This is a great thread and has given me a number of really good ideas. I often win but too often am NOT disciplined enough and give my winnings back. I've tried the envelope system but also have just used envelopes for other days. I like the idea of a Go Home Envelope and a Bad Day Envelope. I took sometimes bring bills with me. One time, to get the money out of my hands, I went to a local Citibank and got a cashiers check and paid three months of rent in advance. I tend to need to get it out of my hands completely as my typical Vegas trip is 7-9 days and having it in the safe can be too tempting but I'm definitely going to try some of your ideas for my trip that starts three weeks from Friday!

Thanks everyone for all the feedback and additional ideas! I really think this is going to work for me, and not limit my fun! It may even force me to try some new things, which I really haven't done on my past few trips. Looking forward to reporting my results when I get back!

Whatever system you use, nothing will beat getting enough quads to keep you playing all day and night. Just saying.