Organizing Your Papers & Finances

Why is it that almost everyone freaks out when it comes to organizing their papers and finances? My theory is that it's because it's so time consuming and tedious, which is why they put it off. Then the piles of papers get higher and higher and the thought of wading through the mountain of papers is overwhelming.

I'm realizing more and more from working with clients how unprepared most people are to deal with their finances, paperwork or an emergency situation. If your files are not organized you won't be able to find important papers or documents. You can't find that utility bill that was due last week or even find your son's shot records to enroll him in school. There's been an illness or death in the family and you have no idea where to locate the necessary important papers. If you had to evacuate in an emergency (remember Hurricane Katrina?), would you be able to grab your important papers?

The media has been driving us crazy about the slowdown in the economy. Many of us have watched our retirement going down the tubes. The economic situation has given many of us a reality check and is the perfect opportunity to get your personal and/or business files organized. You'll be able to better analyze your financial situation and figure out how you can cut expenses to save money and also take at look at your spending habits.

Do you know how much money you REALLY spend on a monthly basis? Are you just taking into consideration the major expenses like rent/mortgage, utilities, insurance, car payments, gas & groceries. What about the following expenses: phone, cable, credit card purchases, lawn care, pest control, furniture & electronic purchases, charitable contributions, entertainment, out of pocket medical expenses, student & personal loans, dry cleaning, barber/hair expenses, sports & health club memberships, Starbucks, school expenses, day care, pet care, vacations, etc. Experiment for one month and write down every penny that you spend. I think you'll be shocked at how much money is flowing out the door every month.

Organize your finances so that you have the ability to analyze your budget and spending habits and cut out surplus spending. Organize your important documents so you are prepared for any kind of emergency.

What's Up With Your Summer?

What wild plans do you have for your summer? Is it filled with all kinds of activities or are you just winging it day by day? Do you have a long list of "To Do's" that you want to accomplish? Having a hard time getting started? Let's face it, you'd rather be doing something fun but the list of things that you want to accomplish is weighing heavily on your mind. Well, if it's something that requires you to work in the summer heat put it off until cooler weather unless you like working in the heat. Focus on a project indoors that you can finish in a short period of time without getting a heat stroke. And who says that you can't mix fun and work. Work on a project for a couple days and then do something fun. You can take advantage of time off during the summer to declutter and organize the areas of your home or office that are stressing you out so that you can jump into fall refreshed and organized.