Saturday, August 28, 2010
Where is the Water Bill?
One of my biggest struggles in managing my money was getting my bills paid on time. We didn't have a system for them so they would end up everywhere from in my car, purse to everywhere and anywhere in the house.Several times a month Hubby and I would be dashing around the house trying to find what ever bills were due...or worse yet we would get one of those brightly colored PAST DUE bills in the mail...it sucked to have to take one of those in to pay the water bill - let me tell you.
Since we were so blase about the actual bills, when they were paid and what we did with the receipts up to this point, I knew that we needed something very regimented.
That's when I found this bill organizer:
So Rule # 1 in our house became:Every opened bill goes straight into that month's slot.
This solved the worst of my problems - what was due, when it was due and how much was due. I started paying my bills a little each week starting with the first that came in the mail and in the order that they were due.
Very grown up, Huh?
After each bill is paid I take the receipt and staple it to the partial bill that I have left and it goes into that month's folder. I then write down the bill and amount paid on the folder.
This has become second nature to me now...but in the beginning it was A TON OF WORK...I thought there is no way that I will ever be able to maintain this. But it's a very powerful feeling knowing where your money has and is going.
My bill organizer also has a zipper pouch in the very front - this is great for shopping receipts! I was never able to find these to return items either. Now I know just where they go! :)
This may seem anal or over the top - but I have found throughout the last couple of years that it works. Our bill organizer helps us be the responsible adults that we are today! We are on our 3rd bill organizer - I buy mine at Staples every January for about $15.The best part?
At any point throughout the month - who ever is paying the bills knows right where they are - what has been paid and needs to be paid!
So...where is your Water Bill?
This is part of a Series on Money Management that I am working on for the next couple of months. I will share the tips and tricks that have worked to keep our family in the black.
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Fantastic idea! I am a very anal person however a few months of great bill paying will go buy and one crappy one will sneak in. I feel that I could use an overall better approach to organizing my "home office" and this is something that coudl come in handy for me. Thanks!!
ReplyDeleteNice! But did you have to mention the water bill? We got socked $75.00 extra this month for overuse!
ReplyDeleteI need one of those this is one of my sturggles lately I used to be soo good at organization and bills and money managament and I think something went wrong cause i'm now sometimes searching for my bills.
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