I’m thrilled to be contributing to Complete Organizing Solutions, because putting things in their place is one my passions (after writing about money, of course). You could say I’m borderline obsessive (even though my wife is trying to even me out a bit). I like my things clean, streamlined, and simple.
Your level of money organization and quality of life are so well-connected, they ought to be married. Consider the two polar opposites:
- When your money’s organized, your focus is on the future, you lead a relatively stress-free lifestyle, and you have more time to spend on worrying about other things in your life!
- When your money’s disorganized, things don’t get paid on time, we spend countless hours cleaning up our own mess, we’re forced into quick decisions, and (in rare cases) we can even end up in jail!
Don’t put yourself through that aggravation. Let’s look at some of what I think are the major symptoms of poorly organized finances:
1. A high level of financial stress.
Which would you rather have: money’s in bad shape but you know the situation and what you plan to do about it; or money is good or bad (usually bad if you’re avoiding it), but you really have no idea what’s going on?
I’ll take the first scenario any day. In the long run, it’s much less stressful. Staying in denial about money issues helps no one. Believe it or not, poor financial performance is often a result of poor organization. Attack the root cause and you can improve your situation.
2. Things are getting missed.
Maybe you forgot to pay the water bill last month. Or an “unforeseen” problem came up with your car and now needs an expensive repair (even though you suspected it for months).
How often do you remember to fill out those “mail-in” rebates you get at the store? Manufacturers know you’re not likely to. How about accounts–do you have so many that you magically “find” savings accounts (usually empty) you forgot existed?
Having to scatter your mind in many different directions prevents you from staying focused on what’s really important.
3. You “can’t find it.”
If I asked you for your account records over the last 3 months, could you find them? The last three pay stubs from work? Tax paperwork from 2007 and 2008?
If you think I’m being unreasonable, walk into any bank today and ask to apply for a home loan. You’ll need to produce all of those items and more. Organization is so critical when making huge life decisions like buying a home, but it’s also important on a day-to-day basis.
We can’t possibly know where we’re going if we don’t have things to refer to…
4. No one but you can find it.
Let’s be somber for a minute. What would happen if the person that handles the finances in your home (and that might be you) suddenly passed away tomorrow?
Ignoring the other obvious implications, what would happen to your family finances? Would you know how to pay the bills, where accounts were located, and how to access them? Would you be familiar and able to react with the family budget? How well do you know the system? Is there a system?
More realistically (I don’t want any of you to die, of course), what would happen if you’re out of town, hospitalized, or otherwise unable to handle money issues at home?
5. Spending is out of control.
If there’s no money left over at the end of every month, it presents a lot of problems for financial management. Much of the time, this is caused by a lack of (or inability to find) your budget, or a lack of (or inability to find or operate…) a tracking system.
You arrive at the last day of the month as if you’ve just been through a hurricane and try to assess the damage…did we make it through? Were there any casualties?
6. You have no financial plans.
If you don’t understand where you are today with your financial picture, it’s difficult to plan for tomorrow. Things like financial mission statements, money goals, and a general vision for what you want your money to look like is something I stress a lot in my writing.
If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll always get there. (Didn’t someone famous say that?)
I bet that at least one item on the list had you nodding your head! At one point or another in my own life, I could relate to each and every one of these “symptoms.” Thankfully, fixing money is not as intimidating as it sounds. And we’ll get to it all soon enough…
Curious how I’ll spend my time on this blog?
I’d like to introduce some basic money topics and show you how to look at your finances with an organizing bias. I’ll show you how to set up and simplify your money systems, streamline how you deal with finances, and tackle piled-up money clutter.
For the most part, I’ll keep things very simple, easy to understand, and most importantly–easy to follow through and implement. If you’re ever curious about other areas of money management, don’t hesitate to check out my blog or ask a question right here!
Now, let’s get those finances organized!
Photo thanks to Dan4th
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