Tips on Organizing Bills and Important Papers
You bring in the mail, put it down in the usual place and by the end of the week you have a pile of paperwork. And now that it is the week end you want to go have fun rather than organize your bills. Read on and learn some simple solutions to dealing with that pile of papers.
The best solution is to keep it simple. The more complex you get the less likely you are to do something about the situation.
One idea is to keep a single file or even a box next to where you place your mail. Put all the bills and financial items into the file or box. Next, work out a time at least once per month but preferably once a week to go through this file. Most likely you can toss the items that don’t go into the file.
When you go through the file or box you would put the bills into an active file. The bills as well as the financial documentation could be placed into a three-ring binder with built-in folders or dividers. Have each folder or divider represent a part of your financial life. An example would be, label one “insurance” and put your policies in it, label another “investments” for your investment statements. Set up any system that works for your life style.
Piles of paper are nothing more than decisions delayed. So dealing with pieces of mail and other key documents as you get them is the best time saver.
One thing that we often do not do enough of is getting rid of those items that we know we don’t need, so feel free to toss them. Remember though, anything you might toss that has your Social Security number, birth date, maiden name, or a financial account number should be shredded first to protect against identity theft.
Now we are getting into the more complex issues of organization as the following items will need safe storage. These would be such items as homeowner documents, past tax returns, car ownership documentation, appliance warranty cards, etc. This will require another method of safekeeping such as a small safe or a file cabinet that is fire proof and has a lock.
How do you determine what to toss and what to keep? Here are some questions you can and should ask when in doubt – Is it useful? (If not, toss it.) Does it exist in another form? (If yes, toss it.) Does it have any tax or legal implications? (If not, toss it.) And, finally, what’s the worst that can happen if you toss something you find out later you need? If you can live with the consequences, toss it.
This may take a bit of time to get these simple solutions set up, but it will pay off in the end.
Also with these actions in place you would have the ability to know whether others owe you money. For example was the utility deposit returned to you when you moved out of state? If you are unorganized you may not have claimed it. If this is possible and you want to check into it, log onto www.CashUnclaimed.com and do a comprehensive search for unclaimed property. It too, is very simple. One entry of your name onto this website and your search of each state and federal database begins.
