5 easy steps to get organised and save money (5)

April is Financial Literacy Month

Read previous posts here:

5. Maintain

Restrict your filing space so that it forces you to clear out old bills every 6 – 12 months.

I actually only keep my own bills for 3 months because I have all my household categories in one file binder.


The entire 5-step, easy-to-use system will take you only a minute or two a day, and about 30 minutes when you sit down and pay your bills.


How long have you been keeping your bills?

If you need help getting your finances organised, check out 10 steps to your financial freedom now.
P.S. Today is our 14-year wedding anniversary :)

Friday Declutter Challenge - your bill-paying centre

Don't forget - for two days only, get the financial e-course for just $21,60 (20% off) when you use coupon code money - offer expires Sat 25th 12pm EST

Do you have a bill-paying centre?

It could be a desk in your home, a shelf or even just a plastic envelope or Office-in-a-bag.

The point it that you have some place to keep all the things you'll need like:

• The actual invoices
• Calculator
• Red pen (or is it just me who loves a nice, thick gel pen for writing PAID)
• Etc.
  

Everybody in your home should know where this is so that you don't have to hunt all over the place to find the bills when it's time to pay.

My suggestion is this:

• when the mail arrives, sort into different types of piles
  
• take the bills and circle the DUE date (see why I like the red gel pen?)
  
• based on your method of payment, either use Outlook or your paper calendar to diarise/ schedule to pay them
• I use internet banking or direct debit order so I never leave more than two days prior to the due date to attend to them.
• now put them in your bill-paying centre so they're ready for you. Do this in chronological order so whenever you look at the pile, the most urgent one is always on top.

excuse the blurry pic

Your challenge

1. Declutter anything that doesn't belong
2. Dedicate a place for your bill-paying centre
3. Organise it with everything you need
4. Relax and have a nice cup of tea or coffee for being responsible :)
   

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For two days only, get the financial e-course for just $21,60 (20% off) when you use coupon code money - offer expires Sat 25th 12pm EST

Have you taken the financial check-up quiz yet? You'll find it about halfway down on this information page: 10 steps to YOUR financial freedom

Join me tomorrow as we declutter and organise...

For two days only, get the financial e-course for just $21,60 (20% off) when you use coupon code money - offer expires Sat 25th 12pm EST

our bill-paying centres (or centers :))

Get ready to post your before and after pics ... if you want to, no pressure!

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For two days only, get the financial e-course for just $21,60 (20% off) when you use coupon code money - offer expires Sat 25th 12pm EST

Have you taken the financial check-up quiz yet? You'll find it about halfway down on this information page: 10 steps to YOUR financial freedom

5 easy steps to get organised and save money (4)

April is Financial Literacy Month

Read previous steps here

4. Filing your bills

Once your bills are paid, file them in the way that’s easiest for you to manage. If you’re not a file puncher, don’t fool yourself that you will start punching and filing. The road to hell is paved with good intentions ;)

Rather use a filing system where you simply drop the paper in and it’s done. Like this picture.


What kind of filing system do you prefer? Punch and file in a binder, or drop in a hanging file?


If you need help getting your finances organised, check out 10 steps to your financial freedom now.

5 easy steps to get organised and save money (3)

April is Financial Literacy Month

Read step 1 and step 2 here


3. Dedicate a specific day or days of the month to pay your bills

Mark off a date on your calendar when you pay bills. If your bills are due on different days of the month, you may need more than one date.

Because life happens, schedule the date a couple of days before the payment is actually due so you don’t incur any late fees.


When do you pay your bills? On a specific day of the month, or on separate days?

And how often do you pay interest on an overdue account?


If you need help getting your finances organised, check out 10 steps to your financial freedom now.

5 easy steps to get organised and save money (2)

April is Financial Literacy Month

Read step 1 here

2. Automate as many bill payments as possible

We live very busy lives so if you don’t have to think about paying it, all the better for you. That said, schedule a day of the month to check your online payments against your actual budget.

How many of you have automated bill paying set up? How is it working for you?

If you need help getting your finances organised, check out 10 steps to your financial freedom now.

5 easy steps to get organised and save money (1)

April is Financial Literacy Month.

Every Wednesday this month I'm going to share a quick tip to help you organise your finances.

Did you know that being organised saves you money?

• You waste money buying duplicates of items you didn’t know you had
• You waste money on late charges because you can’t find the bills you need to pay, or you forget to pay them on time
• You also waste money not deciding in the store where you should store the item you’re thinking of buying, and then not using it

So now that you know why you should get organised, let’s discuss some practical tips to show you how you can get your finances organised.

It’s a big myth that organising is difficult and time-consuming.

Yes, you do have to take some time initially to set up your system but unless you want to make things really complicated, it’ll only take you about 15 to 30 minutes.

1. Put all bills to be paid in a specific folder

When you bring in the mail, throw away the junk mail and envelopes immediately and only keep the actual bill in a dedicated plastic see-through envelope in a specific place. Arrange the bills in order of when they have to be paid so that the one facing you is also the most urgent bill.

This way you and the rest of your family always know exactly where to find all the bills.



Where do you store your incoming bills?

If you need help getting your finances organised, check out 10 steps to your financial freedom now.