Get organised in 30 days, Day 9

What's worse than the dreaded Lurgy?

The answer... the pile of filing that never seems to get done, the computer full of emails to be deleted and the tax stuff that you just don't know what to do with. 

Actually the real answer is writing a Budget. However, this can't be done if you don't know where all the money is going, because you haven't filed anything or just don't even know how to get a good system started and it all just seems a little too daunting! If this sounds familiar, then please set a time with yourself at least twice a week for the next month to work on this area. Most of us stress over money more than any other area in our lives. 

SO... Let's set ourselves a Thursday 1hr routine for our home office. We are going to break it up into 4 15 minute lots, so that we can start to claim back the treasure that is our peace and financial awareness.

Office routine

1. sort through the pile of mail and paperwork from the last week. Please set up an "in box" for ALL incoming paperwork. that way you will know where to find it when you look for it in step 1. Throw out all junk and unnecessary paper, in this time. Put all bills in a folder that you can get to readily and place anything that needs to be filed neatly on your desk ready for step 2. (As the weeks go on you will be able to sort through much of the older paper work, as you will get into a good routine. Over the course of 3 months, I threw out an entire 90L container of old paperwork. Remember to start with the latest paperwork, so that you can make sure bills that are due get paid and not missed, hence not costing you extra fees.)
2. DO YOUR FILING! only for 15 minutes. You will be surprised what you can achieve! I DARE YOU!!
3. Schedule your bill payments for current bills and place any Tax claimable receipts into a folder for the current tax year.
4. Clear your emails. This will include removing yourself from mailing lists that you no longer wish to receive. They are as bad or worse than junk mail in your letter box, because we just scan over them.

When we have started getting our paperwork in order, then we can start to look at our Budget. Next week we will look at what our options are and see the pros and cons of each of them.

If you are still not sure about filing, I suggest a really good course through Kikki-k. I have done this workshop and found much of it to be very helpful. They encourage you to buy their products, but I have been able to find affordable alternatives in many cases. For $40.00 and 2 hours of your life, it might just save you from drowning in the sea of paperwork. 

Please note I have not been paid by Kikki-k. I am sharing my own personal experiences.

Have some fun and reward yourself at the end of the hour with your favourite beverage or even a refreshing walk. 

Take care and God Bless

Rivkah