FreshCaffeine

Paying Bills and Dealing with Money

Paying and keeping up with bills is a tricky thing to do especially with credit cards and car payments. I have found a no hassle, no mess easy way to organize bill and keep them all paid and up to date without ever getting another late charge.

The first thing that you need to do is get your bills organized. I have found a great little bill organizer that I got from Staples and it works great and it organizes the bills from January to December. It’s just called “Home Finances” and Day Runner makes it. The great thing about it is that you can either store it at the end of the year and keep the files for future reference (up to 7 years for the IRS) or you can just not use the writing area and reuse the book over and over each year. (Another simple way is to just get a 3-hole punch and 12 notebook dividers. You can make your own out of a 2-inch 3-ring binder. You might even like that better. )

Once you have your bills organize, you have to keep it that way. It doesn’t mean that you have to put your bills in as soon as they come in but have a basket or bin that you collect them in. Open them, look at them, throw out the trash that comes with them and put them in your bin (Having a stapler handy is also a good idea so you can keep muti-page bills together and in order).

Continue reading "Organization 101 – Lesson 6" »

Posted by Caffeine at 09:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Using Post-its to Keep Organized

This is a very quick tip that I picked up when trying to get things done around the house, with phone calls and with the many doctor’s appointments and lab tests that I have had to get done. It’s not good to run yourself ragged trying to do a million tasks in a day. I have Post-Its; they are like gold in my house. I use the small-unlined Post-Its to write down each thing that I need to do on individual post-its and I stick it to mirror that is beside my bed.

Why beside my bed? Because just before you go to sleep you always remember something that you have to do tomorrow and you might forget it by morning. So, I have the post-its there and the mirror and there you go! I never forget what needs to be done (It doesn’t mean I always do it). You could also do this with your fridge or bathroom mirror, or just the wall (the Post-It won’t hurt it, but you will need the Super Sticky small post-its if you want them to stick to the wall)

Continue reading "Organization 101 – Lesson 5" »

Posted by Caffeine at 12:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Keeping in Touch and Organized

This day and age it's hard to keep up with your own life let alone the lives of your friends and relatives. The first thing I will suggest to you is to get a good calendar and address program for your computer (I have a Mac and I think it has the best Calendar ever!). Take all of the various calendars and slips of paper that you have to remind you when everyones birthday, anniversary and other special event is and spend the afternoon putting them all into you computers calendar, as well as adding their addresses to your address book (you will thank me later). If you don't have some information about someone write down on individual post-its for each person what you need. Then when you get it you can toss that post-it and move on to the next.

Also using your computer for this makes an easy to print Christmas card writing list, you will never forget anyone again.

Once you have all of that done it's a matter of keeping up with all of these events. I set my iCal to remind me 2 weeks in advance for birthdays and gift giving holidays so that I have time to purchase a gift and a card. It gives me time to be lazy about it for a couple of days and then I still have time to get out and get something in time. Then I have a second reminder for the day of so that I remember to call and say "Happy Birthday" to those whom I love.

Continue reading "Organization 101 Lesson 4" »

Posted by Caffeine at 12:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Using Wooden Boxes and Wicker Baskets

Here is another quick tip. Buy Nice wooden boxes instead of plastic ones to store small things around your house, baskets are also good. They hide what you don't want people to see and you can sit them right out on the coffee table because they aren't ugly plastic boxes.

I use baskets around the house for things like remotes and linens they are also good in the bathroom for toilet paper, towels and magazines. Keep one by your door for keys and change and receipts and then go through it once a month, give the kids the change and throw out any receipts to products that you don't need to return (always save your receipts for electronics and big ticket items for at least 30 days or the length of the return policy). If you find a small and decorative trash can use it as an umbrella keeper (no body has long umbrellas anymore).

Continue reading "Organization 101 Lesson 3" »

Posted by Caffeine at 10:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In one of my earlier posts I mentioned starting a scrapbook for each of my kids to keep some special things in for when they get older and to also weed out the trash that I have been collecting over the years. I finally went to the store last night to buy all of the supplies that I thought I would need and it is really amazing how much stuff the have just for scrap-booking.

I thought I was only going to need a few things like an album for each of the kids and some paper but I ended up spending over $100 on all kinds of stuff: wavy scissors, stickers, a paper organizer, a photos box, card stock, special adhesive (because Elmer's glue just won't do) and I decided on another album for the whole family for holidays and vacations and other special events. I have to give myself credit though I did not buy these awesome sheets of paper that were 1.99 a piece. I am just too cheap for that.

I had thought that this was just going to be something I did every now and then to keep these books up for the kids but after going to the store and seeing all of the things available I think I might actually enjoy this as a hobby. I could make a book for different events and things like that even making them as gifts for people (grandparents and such). But I don't want to become crazy with it, I am not that kind of person, ok maybe I am but I don't want to be that kind of scrap book person.

Someone please stop me when I start becoming a crazy person, if I haven't already. My husband said that he could already she his future Acura and retirement slipping away as I shopped. I hope I don't get that bad. I have seen people who are like that. It's not a pretty picture.

Posted by Caffeine at 09:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)