How to organize your finances.
Hi Ladies! Welcome to the millionaire series. If you are new here, my name is Victoria I created this series to help women learn how to manage their money, invest money, and build wealth.
I wasn’t taught about personal finance growing up, I had to learn the hard way. Now that I have done the research and figured it out, I wanted to break down this information for you. Today I want to share my tips on how to organize your finances.
Once you have decided that you want to take total control of your financial life, It is time to take action.
The very first thing you need to do is become organized. If it’s one thing I learned about Millionaires, it’s that they always know where every dollar is going.
They keep a strong eye on their money because they know that every little bit counts. They do this by being extremely organized.
Here’s why it’s important to organize your finances
We live in a very busy, fast paced world. The average person has about 20 monthly bills.
That’s around what we have, maybe a little more. It can be difficult to keep track of every day life as well as your bills.
Not having an organized system for your money can result in late or missed payments, late fees and overdraft fess, lower credit scores, and higher interest rates.
Organizing is something that I am really good at, but I actually didn’t really become organized until a couple of years ago.
Looking back, I wish that I would have done this earlier, and I highly suggest you do this as soon as you finish high school or college. Here are my top ways to organize your finances.
Use a finance app
For the longest time I was in denial about having a finance app. I figured I could continue to do all my budgeting on paper. But now that I used less and less cash each month and everything is on credit cards *must. have. miles.*
I finally gave in at the beginning of the year and download Simplifi by Quicken. I wish this post was sponsored by them because I love the app so much.
Within the first month of getting the app, I noticed an amazon music charge that had been coming out every single month. The problem is that I don’t have amazon music and I have never used it. I use Spotify. I called Amazon and realized I had been paying for amazon music for 11 MONTHS!
I explained to Amazon that I had no knowledge of this account and I would really love it if they would refund me all of the months I had been paying.
They did! I received an almost $80 refund! Essentially, the Simplifi app paid for itself and then some, because I would have never caught that charge otherwise. It is easy to use and it really helps me manage my finances.
Create a command center in your home
A command center is a place in your home where you can store your mail, has a calendar, shipping supplies, and everything needed for paying bills.
I don’t have a fancy command center, but I do have a shelf in my kitchen where I can put all of my incoming and outgoing mail, store my pens and other bill paying supplies, etc.
I also have a calendar on my fridge that I use for keeping track of bill and other important events. I love having that designated space in my house because it gives me a place for all of my bills to go. In the past sometimes bills would get lost because I didn’t have a place to put everything. (Major fail)
Create a folder in your email for paperless bills
I know that a lot of companies are going paperless these days and I think that is amazing, but this does mean that you must closely monitor your inbox and make sure you are keeping track of those e-bills as well.
I only have a couple of e-bills and I always mark them as unread and move them to a folder on my phone. You can also screenshot your bills and save those photos in a folder as well.
Organize your finances with a binder
Purchasing a binder to organize my finances was one of the best decisions I could ever make. I use my binder for all paper bills that I receive and I use it to store receipts that I print out when I make an online transaction such as paying taxes online.
I also use my binder to store tax papers, birth certificates, medical paperwork, credit reports, and receipts/warranty papers on large purchases such as appliances and electronics.
My bills go on a little trip from my mailbox, to my command center, to my binder once it is has been opened. This is so nothing gets lost. Once I implemented this system in my daily life, it improved the way I handle my finances. I didn’t lose my paperwork all the time like I used to.
You can also use the binder to store all of your bank account information and credit card accounts so you can easily keep track of everything.
Use a bill payment log
If you aren’t using an app, you can go on Etsy and find a printable bill payment log for only a couple dollars. I used the bill payment log for a long time before I started using the app.
This was helpful for me to lay out all of the family expenses coming from both my husband and myself. It’s also nice to physically write out your bills every now and then because you get a huge reality check on what you are paying for.
Bill payment logs are simple and effective way to organize your finances.
Organize your finances by using the reminder app in your phone to pay your bills on time
The reminder app on my iphone has been my best friend as of late. It is one of my most used apps because I can make notes, set alarms for certain events, and keep track of random thoughts.
I put most of my bills in the reminders app and set alarms for the ones that I have trouble remembering to pay. Sometimes getting email reminders from the companies don’t work for me.
I end up quickly deleting the email and making a mental note to pay the bill, then I’m scrambling on the due date to pay it before the end of business day. Reminders are your friend. Use them!
Final thoughts…
Organization is so important when it comes to finances. Becoming organized has helped me avoid late fees and taken away the stress I used to have when it was time to pay bills. Be sure to check out the next post in the Millionaire Series.
