Declutter Financial Files, and Organize Your Life
Published April 16, 2012
Bankrate.com
"The influx of paperwork they're receiving in the mail -- bank statements, 401(k) statements, IRA statements -- comes in, it doesn't get opened right away, and it piles up," says Schrier, president and founder of Cut the Clutter, in New York City.
Sound familiar? The solution is setting up a good filing system and knowing how long to keep the financial records you put in it. Here's how you can organize clutter.
Reduce the Pile
One way to cut back on paper clutter is to prevent some of it from entering your home in the first place. You can opt to receive your bank statements, credit card bills and utility bills exclusively online and eliminate the paper altogether. If you go this route, make sure you're diligent about checking your accounts and noting when payments are due.Digitizing your financial records is a great space saver. You can find portable receipt and document scanners starting at around $100, or spend several hundred for a desktop high-speed scanner.
If you don't want to do it yourself, some financial advisers and accountants will scan clients' documents for free, or you can get it done at a copy center for a small cost. You can also use a service such as Shoeboxed, which lets you mail in your receipts or email copies via your cellphone camera for processing.
Ecclesiastes 9:10 — Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might.
at Dave Ramsey.com.
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