Financial Organization For Your Home

Financial organization can be overwhelming! While the digital age has made things easier overall, there is still a lot to think about. Although it is no longer necessary to keep filing cabinets full of pay stubs and utility bills for decades, there is still a lot you must keep, shred and/or deal with!

Where Do I Start – Financial Organization

Many companies now offer online billing or automatic payments. Don’t fight your nature. If you like the process of receiving bills in the mail and writing checks, do what you love. If you want to receive them via email it can be very convenient. But first make sure that you check your email often enough not to miss any due dates. Also make sure to add the company’s email address to your contacts so the bills don’t go to spam. If you receive some bills by mail and some via email or automatic payments, make sure to take note of which is which. There are also some apps and websites like mint.com or everydollar.com that are great online tools for budgeting and bill paying!

What To Keep – Financial Organization

For a family, you can keep your paper bills for two years. You may also want bank statements, voided checks and pay stubs. After two years, many people will discard them. Most of this information is available online or in a digital format and is unnecessary to keep once you have filed your taxes. Do what is comfortable for you and what makes sense for how much money you make, how you manage it and what your circumstances are. Always keep your taxes. Consider them a summary of your financial life on an annual basis.

When To Pay – Financial Organization

Pay your bills on a monthly or semi-monthly basis. You could choose your pay dates. Money comes in, and a lot of it goes right back out. Otherwise, plan to pay your bills on the 15th and the 30th of each month. Nothing will be missed and everything will have plenty of time to get there on time!

Don’t forget, when you have paid and then confirmed those payments, make sure to shred or burn your statements or receipts when you do get rid of them. Regardless of how old they are. Identity theft is a real thing. Don’t make it as simple as going through your trash. Your name, address, account numbers and even partial information can give these criminals their start. Simply disposing of this information properly is critical to your safety.