When I’m unorganized I can’t think clearly, things go missing and I feel like I’m living in chaos. When I choose to take a proactive approach and come up with systems, it’s unbelievable how much better I feel, how much smoother my days go and how much money I save.
If you’re looking for ways to get organized one great place to start is with your finances. Here’s how to do it.
Get Rid of ALL Unimportant Documents
Are you one of those people who keep absolutely everything? So is my husband.
Here’s the thing – while you might feel like you need to keep ahold of every bill or financial document that comes into your possession, you really don’t need to. Having electric bills from a six months ago is unnecessary and is likely adding to your disorganization.
Go through all of your financial document and get rid of everything you don’t need.
What I keep:
- Tax Documents (Including receipts, tax forms, and anything else I’ll need to file my income taxes. Also keep your income taxes for seven years.)
- Bank Statements
That’s pretty much it unless a bill comes in that I need to call about or that I want to keep for future reference (but I must have a really strong reason to do this.)
As bills come in I collect them in a basket. Then when I sit down to pay my bills each week I promptly shred the bill and toss it in the trash.
A Dedicated Spot in Your House
Another way to stay organized and on top of paper clutter is to have a dedicated spot in your home where you can collect and pay your bills.
For me this dedicated spot is a little basket in my office where I keep my stamps, calculator and unpaid bills.
A Check Register
So, I’ve noticed a trend lately where people are relying on things like the balance they see on their ATM receipts instead of recording their transactions in a check register.
This isn’t always such a great idea, especially if your checking account balance hovers toward the low end of the spectrum. It’s too risky. That ATM receipt balance is only showing you what’s in your account at the moment and does not take into consideration pending payments and checks you may have sent out in the mail.
Use the check register that came with your box of checks to record your financial transactions.
A Savings Account
If you’re working toward any big financial goals it’s much easier to do it by saving in a dedicated account. I personally use and love Capital One 360.
With Capital One I can create multiple free savings accounts and name them after each of my financial goals.
If you don’t have a savings account open one up and have it linked to your checking account so that you can easily make deposits whenever you have extra money.
Being organized financially isn’t too difficult to maintain once your system is set up.
How do you stay organized financially?