The 401(k) has become a rainy-day fund because more employers are automatically enrolling their workers, including people ...

Is the envelope challenge worth it? Absolutely! Whether you have debt to pay off or lacking a savings account (especially one set aside for a rainy day), the envelope challenge is worth doing.

While it can be tempting to treat those dollars as “fun money” or use them on short-term expenses, your future self may thank you for allocating some of them to your rainy-day fund.