Grammy winner Ed Sheeran is worth an estimated $200 million — but he’s a fan of this penny-pinching savings hack (and psst: pros say you may want to do it too)

Thanks to hits like “Shape of You,” “Bad Habits,” “Castle on the Hill” and “Perfect,” Grammy Award winning singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran has an estimated net worth of $200 million dollars, according to CelebrityNetWorth.com. But, even with all that money, Sheeran shared that when it comes to spending, he’s actually quite frugal. “You never want to be wasteful,” he told the Irish Examiner, before revealing he doesn’t have a black credit card in his wallet. “[I use] my Barclays student account. I’ve not upgraded because I don’t spend much money. If I had all my money in one account I would spend all of it, so I get an allowance.” (See some of the best savings account rates here.)

Pros say that is actually a smart way to spend less and save more. Indeed, certified financial planner Marguerita Cheng encourages people to give themselves allowances because it can help them better manage their money. And it allows you to have some guilt-free spending, to a point, says Kaleb Paddock, certified financial planner at Ten Talents Financial Planning. “By setting an allowance for things like fun money and discretionary spending, you’re giving yourself permission to spend and not be wondering if it’s okay. This concept of allowance can also work wonders for couples who fight about personal spending or discretionary purchases,” says Paddock.

Cheng says: “An allowance is basically giving yourself permission to choose how to allocate your monthly cash flow. People often have competing priorities and can feel overwhelmed or stressed and an allowance provides individuals and couples the opportunity to know they can enjoy today while still planning for tomorrow.” 

Cheng gives herself an allowance.  She allocates some money to saving, some to investing, and gives herself an allowance for things she loves to buy. “Some examples include Apple Music because I enjoy music, quarterly subscription to book club and membership to Barre [classes] since I enjoy reading and staying healthy and fit,” says Cheng.

See some of the best savings account rates here.

An allowance may be particularly helpful to those who want to become more mindful of what they’re spending while also at least getting some flexibility. “Those who feel their spending is out of control can use this budgeting method to think about their spending short-term rather than long-term,” says certified financial planner Danielle Miura of Spark Financials. 

As for implementing an allowance strategy, Miura recommends getting a prepaid card and loading it with funds every week. “Once you hit your weekly limit, you cannot spend any money for the rest of the week,” says Miura. To figure out how much your allowance should be, experts advise adding up all your bills, savings contributions, investments and other essential living costs and then determining an amount leftover that you’re comfortable using for discretionary items and experiences.

Meanwhile, Paddock says it can be helpful to create a primary checking account and then an additional checking or savings account where you establish monthly transfers to tell your money where to go. “For the allowance account, you can have a debit card attached to it if it’s a checking account and you could even open a separate credit card that is paid off monthly through the allowance checking account. However, if you don’t have self-control to treat your credit card like a debit card, then just stick to using the debit card for allowance purchases so you don’t’ overspend your allowance,” says Paddock.

What’s more, Paddock says it can sometimes be helpful, particularly for couples, to use a cash flow app like Honeydue, Tiller Money or Mint, to bring awareness to spending and create text or email notifications if you exceed certain spending limits.