Of course January is a good time to make sure the bill-paying system is going smoothly. That's what I'm doing today, so I thought I'd share.
Do you keep the accounts in your house? I do, because my husband, though organized and orderly, has been shown to be incapable of saying no to me, which has gotten us into some trouble. He is so good to me that whatever I ask him for, he has to let me get! This way, I don't ask myself, because I am cheap.
I'm going to show you the way I do it. It works for me, and it's cost-effective and user-friendly. My mother (the bookkeeper, a.k.a. Habou) sort of laughed at me when I showed her how I do it, but it's the only way I can handle what I find to be a terrible chore. This post is not for you organized, paper-loving people. It's for people like me.
I am paper-averse. I hate paperwork of any kind. It does not make me happy to think of filing systems, forms, file folders, or anything connected with paperwork. I started home schooling because I couldn't take all the forms and sheer amounts of paper the schools kept sending me. It's true!
I think if I show you pictures you will get it, and if it helps you, then it will be worth a post of pictures of paper. Which I hate.
So. It's the Chief who tipped me off to keeping my statements in an envelope that a statement came in. Get that? Those statements each seem to be a different size and shape, and this way, in January, you save one envelope and use that to keep all statements of that particular bill in, and they fit, and they are organized. Put the new statement in the front.
If there isn't an envelope or you threw it out or it ripped, grab one of the ones you would toss away and label it. (Since I pay most bills online, there are usually plenty of spare, mostly blank return envelopes lying around.) This one is where I'll keep those statements you get in January, rather than put them each in with the statement it refers to. That way they'll be in one place when he does the taxes. I surely don't do taxes!Here's where I put my unopened stuff:
Every week, usually Monday morning, make sure you have gone through all your mail (read: bills) and tossed out everything that isn't something you should act on– flyers, junk, the extra stuff in the bills, whatever. Just keep the bare bill.
Before you pay the bill, keep it in an upright holder (having thrown away the envelope, unless you need it to file, and extraneous material). Put the bills in the order they must be paid. Once it's paid, put it in the “file” envelope.
Keep the envelopes in a cute basket. This makes you happy. This reminds you that you are a girl. Put a picture of St. Joseph in there, because he took very good care of his family and he will intercede for yours. God trusted him completely to watch over His son and His mother. He's a good advocate. St. Therese trusted St. Joseph and will show us how to do the same.You can see that they have been in there for a loooong time! That's okay.
Why worry about money? That's what they remind me to pray about. Also keep a letter opener in there or in your desk drawer, because the only thing worse than paper is messy paper.
You can keep random documents in here too. When the envelope gets full, or when January comes around, put it in a plastic bin. You need about four or five of these bins; after 7 years you can start burning the stuff in the first bin. Keep them in the attic, except the one you are filling now. If you ever need to find something, it will be in there, in an easily identifiable envelope. It won't be super easy to find, but it will be there.
Keep your bank statements in the back of the basket. I download mine, so there's no envelope.
These are bulky, so every few months toss them into the plastic bin.
I find that if I need to look at a statement, I far prefer touching my basket to a filing cabinet. I'm very visual, so it's better for me to see a familiar envelope than a file folder with a label.
One more thing. See those large manila business envelopes that I keep in front of my basket on the cart? (I love those manila envelopes, for some reason that seems to be an exception to the paper thing…)
I label one for each month.
Any receipt from any store goes in there, other than car repair receipts, which have their own place. Put the most recent ones in front. That way they are out of your purse, off the counter, and in a handy place where you can find them. Enter the amount in your Quicken before you file it! Put the ones from a few months previous into your plastic bin…you might need a few months' worth to be handy, but not more than that. When you need to return something, there's the receipt! Okay? Okay!
Anne R Triolo says
Ohhhh the filing! John has given me till next week to get it done OR ELSE…he'll do it instead! Doesn't that sound like a benign threat? It's not. I can't STAND dealing with files that someone else has organized…
Anne R Triolo says
oh, and I too have a cute basket. I use it for bills that I haven't paid yet and statements etc that I haven't filed yet.
Aleta says
Oh boy!! I just KNEW I needed another basket for something!!
Angie says
LOL — it made me laugh when I saw the photo with the saint pictures in it. I seem to have saint cards in every basket and drawer around my house, as well as using many as bookmarks too. I just never know who I'm going to come across during the day. 😉
mamabeck says
You've got some awesome ideas here! Love the manila envelopes for receipts! I always get mine mangled up and then toss them…just in time to need one! ;)Ok. Now I NEED to do the filing today. Thank you for the inspiration!
Laura says
Just found your blog, and I really enjoyed this post. I have ben stressing about getting a system that works for me, since nothing I have tried does. I think that many of the things you said will help, and I may actually get everything in order! thanks!
Mrs. Pickles says
How simple AND girly! My husband handles the filing — I try to shield my eyes when I pass the filing cabinet.One thing we do for receipts is keep them in one of those plastic recipe boxes, divided according to category (gas, groceries, leisure, misc., etc.), after I've entered them into the computer. Then, same as you, every couple months we'll cull out all the old ones that we don't need anymore. Hm, using a manila envelope would be easier than digging through an overstuffed little box though…It's neat seeing how every family (and filer personality!) develops its own system!