Home with the Kids Newsletter November 13, 2007. Pay Your Bills On Time - 6 Steps For Creating An Effective Bill Paying System

The Editor's Desk - From Beneath the Clutter
Feature Article - Pay Your Bills On Time - 6 Steps For Creating An Effective Bill Paying System
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The Editor's Desk - From Beneath the Clutter

Just got back home from a quick trip to see some relatives. It was a lot of fun and my kids got to spend some time with cousins they don't get to see very often. It was especially interesting seeing how Gage interacted with his male cousins - all the local ones are girls, so he hasn't played with other boys as much as with girls. He enjoyed it pretty well, although the other boys did have to be reminded that Gage is younger and hasn't played that rough before. By the end of the trip he was thinking about it, though.

Of course what this really means is I'll spend a couple days catching up on everything I couldn't do away from home. Nice thing about working online is that I can do a lot of my regular work if I so choose... but when on vacation I rarely do more than a minimum to make sure there aren't any obvious problems developing. My husband and kids really like it when I take that kind of a break.

Feature Article

Pay Your Bills On Time - 6 Steps For Creating An Effective Bill Paying System

1. Sort Mail- As soon as you bring the mail in, or at a designated time (each day or week), open and sort through your mail while tossing junk mail and unnecessary inserts and separating your pending bills, invitations, etc. Immediately place your pending bills and invitations in the area you have designated. Keep your pending bills together in one area

2. Set a Bill Paying Schedule- Designate 1-4 days per month to pay your bills. Be consistent and do all of your bill paying on those days. You may want to pay your bills on the 1st and the 15th or you may prefer to pay bills every Friday. Do whatever works for you, but be consistent.

3. Set up a Bill Paying Center- In order to speed up your bill paying efforts, always pay your bills in the one designated area and make sure the area is stocked with your checkbook, envelopes, stamps, pens, pencils, a calculator, tape, a stapler and return address labels. You can keep all/most of these supplies in one container to help streamline the process.

4. Record Keeping- As soon as you pay each bill, make sure to immediately record the payment in your check register or computer software register. Don't wait until later because if you do, there's a good chance you will forget. And once you forget, you'll have to waste time and money later dealing with overdrawn account fees. Once you pay your bills, mark your copy or section of the invoice with the Date Paid, Check Number and Amount Paid. Then, file each into your filing system with one folder for each category; i.e. Utilities, Insurance, Credit Cards, etc.

5. Filing- Every month you will receive checking account statements, and possibly cancelled checks, from your bank. Immediately place them in a folder until your designated monthly date rolls around to reconcile your checking account. Then, keep your statements and cancelled checks all together in a folder for the year. You may need to retrieve them later for your accountant when tax season rolls around. By the way, any bank statements and/or cancelled checks more than a year old can be stored away in a different area than your current files. You may also consider checking with your accountant to determine how long he or she suggests you need to keep this information.

6. Advanced Preparation- For recurring bills, such as mortgage or loan payments, you'll save a lot of time preparing a bunch of envelopes for each beforehand. For example, let's say you have to pay the mortgage each month. Make a year's worth of envelopes out with the appropriate name and mailing address, your return address and a stamp. This way, everything will be all set to go each month. You just write out a check, place it in the prepared envelope and mail.

Lauren Halagarda is the owner of The Organization Connection, a Professional Organizing firm based in Jacksonville, NC. She loves to help parents and professionals regain control of their BITS (belongings, information, time, and space) and provide education and assistance for organizing YOUR world- at home or at work. She also has a unique talent for organizing your bytes - working with you to choose and use software to be more efficient and productive. Lauren is a Certified Professional Organizer®, a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) and NAPO-NC and currently serves as the NAPO Website Chairperson.

To ask her a question or find out more information on organizing your B.I.T.S. or bytes, e-mail Info@2OrganizeU.com or visit The Organization Connection web site at http://www.2OrganizeU.com You can sign up for her FREE organizing eZine simply by visiting her website: http://www.2OrganizeU.com

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