Can you picture the head of a bank trying to manage their dollars on a desk surrounded by magazines, dishes, kids’ artwork, last month’s bills, next month’s bills, trash, computer games, cookbooks, or the other things normally found in our homes?
We are going to create a spot in your home where everything you need to Rediscover Your Money can be found in one place.
You are the manager and this is your spot!
Whoa! No, you don’t need to go shopping to buy a desk, chair, and filing cabinet for a new home office LOL. SHOP at home FIRST. Let’s take this one step at a time. Here are a few things that this space is going to need:
- A flat surface to work on (could be a desk, the kitchen table, or even your coffee table)
- A place to store some office supplies (could be a desk drawer, a plastic storage tote, or a even pretty basket)
- A place to store incoming and outgoing mail (bills, checks, notices, etc.)
- A place to store your financial files (this could be a filing drawer or a plastic storage tote with a huge label on it that says – “Rediscover Your Money”)
Can you find a spot? The kitchen table works great, just make sure that you can quickly pack everything up neatly and store it until you need it again. We use our dining room as a home office. This is where we manage our money.
Now take a hard look at this spot. Envision the manager of a bank using this spot to manage her client’s money. Quit your laughing! I know that the cat dragged its toys under the desk and there are Barbie shoes and Lego pieces on the windowsill. And yes, your morning coffee cup is still sitting by the computer surrounded by two school newsletters, last year’s Christmas Cards (in envelopes, but not mailed), and a leaning tower of “important” papers and magazines that haven’t been looked at in two years. And look, there is even a print out from Cindy's Porch LOL! Been there, done that. Let’s clear out some of this stuff and make some room. Don’t worry if this takes a few days to get ready. We’re taking our time here!
Start with the “Not Me Five”:
- Laundry: gather up any laundry that has accumulated in this space (the socks you kicked off last night onto the floor, the shirt with a missing button that your son left in the corner, and the tea-towel you dropped on the desk while you were drying your hands)
- Dirty Dishes: gather up the coffee mugs, the plates, the spoons, and the popcorn dish and load them up into the dishwasher or beside the sink.
- Trash: use a plastic garbage bag and pick up all the trash. Take the trash straight outside to the trashcan. Get it out of the house.
- Papers: gather up the old magazines, last month’s newsletters, the junk mail, and other papers that are ready for the recycle or trash. Get them out of the house.
- Other Stuff: Call the other family members and tell them to pick up their homework, their computer games, and other “treasures” that they have left behind. Then gather up your homework, hobby stuff, library books, and other “treasures” that you have left behind (I’m the one that usually messes up the office desk LOL).
Whew! I bet it is starting to look better already! Take a peek at the clock. I know how quickly time passes when we get busy with a project. Should you be someplace else? Or is it time for a break? No problem, bookmark this page and come back when you have a few more minutes. - Cindy
A Flat Surface to Work On: Sorting through the leaning towers of paper:
Do you have a flat surface to work on or is stuff still piled up on your desk or table? Start at one end and work your way across. Go through each leaning tower of paper one pile at a time. Start sorting this papers into the following new piles:
- Checks to be deposited
- Bills to be paid
- Bills that have been paid
- Papers that need to be dealt with (taxes, insurance, notices, etc)
- Papers that need to be kept
- Junk mail (add it to the recycle or trash bag)
- Other
Here's a hint: I like to grab one pile at a time and sort it out while I am watching some evening TV. After a couple of evenings, the pile are gone!
Office Supplies:
There are a few tools that make it much easier to manage your financials and Rediscover Your Money. Remember, SHOP at home FIRST. Most of us have all these things in our homes already. It is simply a matter of pulling them together into one handy spot.
- Pens and pencils
- Calculator
- Calendar for the current year
- Binder (for the “Rediscover Your Money” printouts from www.CindysPorch.net)
- File Folders and a place to put these file folders. This can be a desk drawer, a cardboard box, or even one of those portable cases that hold hanging files.
- Blank envelopes
- Stamps
- Checkbook
I just took a peek in my desk drawer - YIKES! If you have a desk, empty out the drawer that holds the pens, pencils, paperclips, and other office supplies. Take everything out. Toss the pens and markers that are dried out, get rid of the scraps of papers that have old info written on them, replace all the spilled paperclips, and chew that last piece of chewing gum. Wipe out all the crumbs, wash the plastic tray, and replace with only the things that you actually use. If you are like me, you have ended up with too many pens, and other office clutter. Take these out of the desk drawer and put them something else. I keep an office supply stash in my closet. This is where I SHOP at home FIRST when I run out of something.
A Place for Incoming and Outgoing Mail:
Have you ever lost a check? Or you can’t remember ever receiving a certain bill? Do you find unopened mail in your car, at the bottom of your purse, or inside the piano bench? (Don’t ask me how I know this LOL).
Everyone should have a spot for incoming and outgoing mail. I have my husband to thank for ours. He hung up a wooden mail sorter on our bulletin board the first year we were married and we have used it ever since. SHOP at home FIRST: see what you can find that your family can use as an “IN” basket and “OUT” basket.
A Place for Financial Files:
I am almost embarrassed to say, we only have three active financial files (named by my husband):
- One is labeled “Non-Destructible Important Stuff” and contains our insurance papers, passports, certificates, will, house papers, etc. This file rarely changes. A backup of this file is also located in a separate location outside of our home.
- One is labeled “Bills” and contains all the paperwork for the current year. This includes employment check stubs, paid utility bills, paid credit card bills, donation receipts, investment returns, etc. My husband sorts through this file at the end of the year when our personal income taxes are prepared. When he is finished, he gathers all the papers and seals them up into a manila envelope with the year written on the front. We store these envelops in the basement. The empty “Bills” file is then ready for the new year.
- The last is “Cindy’s Work Stuff” which contains all the receipts for my home-based business. I go through this file (under duress LOL) when it is time to do my taxes. They get sorted month by month and filed into a binder for the year. The completed binder goes into the basement with the manila folders.
IMPORTANT: If you already have a filing system that works for you and your family, do NOT change it!
The point here is NOT to re-organize your filing system. All we want right now is a PLACE to put those important papers and bills that you will find as you Rediscover Your Money.
Leave your old files alone for now. Over time, you’ll go through them one by one and get rid of the papers you don’t need to keep any more.
Congratulations on a job well done!!
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