Are you working your life away? Yes, you, the one working six days a week, 12 hours a day. Oh, so you “rest” on the seventh day? Hey, even God rested on the seventh day. You, however, put in a few more hours. When did you confuse your job with your life? Leisure, wellness, fun, and stress reduction are all an essential part of any productive routine. If you have a hard time kicking back, here are a few suggestions you should try. Read the rest »

If your family is anything like mine the price increase at the pump is a big factor in your day to day life. In the past few years we have seen the gas price jump from 99 cents a gallon to over $3.50 with no end in sight. I am frustrated, unnerved and annoyed! What is a person to do?

I have a proposal for others in the same predicament; get more organized!! Yes, you can gain some of the control back, and the savings will add up! Here are some suggestions: Read the rest »

Throughout this month, I have been giving you tips on what to do with all your paper clutter, but now we need to work on how not to let clutter build up in the first place. First you need to see where you find paper clutter accumulating. Next, determine what papers consists of this clutter.

For me, I found that the clutter was mostly my children’s school papers. What works best is I have a basket on top of the refrigerator to put papers that I don’t want to throw away. Every month I go through this basket and toss some but the rest I add to the lidded hanging file containers that I have for each child. Inside this container I have large hanging files, one for each year, and I place art and school projects inside. I wish I could keep every paper/project that my children ever touch, but I don’t want my good intentions to become their clutter down the road. Instead, I have a great representation of each year of their lives. Read the rest »

This month we have been working in the area I refer to as the home office, but is actually the area where you store your paperwork; whether it is an actual office in your home, a desk in your family room, or simply a cabinet in your kitchen. I realize what an overwhelming task this can be, but need to stress how very important this is to your family. If you have questions, please contact your tax professional or attorney.

Last week we worked on the large filling drawer to keep important papers. These papers, although quite important, are not as imperative as the items I am going to ask you to keep in your smaller folio. Once completed this smaller folio will contain everything you need in case of an emergency. In addition, it is extremely important to instruct your family members as to where this folio is in case you are unable to get it. I suggest purchasing a fire box to keep these items: Read the rest »

Dear Geralin,

My husband and I are both fairly organized, but our third child is going to be born shortly and we know we’ll be overwhelmed soon. One area where we are not so organized is keeping track of all our passwords. Do you have any tips for keeping our passwords organized? The less tech-y the solution, the better. Read the rest »

Last week I gave you a shopping list of items to pick up; (if you did not already own them) filing drawer, small folio, basket/bin that can fit bills, and paper shredder. In addition, I challenged you to do a quick toss of paper clutter that you absolutely knew you did not need to keep. Finally, I asked you to collect your unpaid bills, open and toss out the envelope and filler.

This week we are going to work on what you need to keep in your file drawer and for how long. Following are the files that I keep. You may need to add to my list to best suit your needs. The following information is not to replace the advice from a financial expert, so please use this just as a guide. If you have any specific questions please contact your accountant or lawyer, as I am neither. Read the rest »

If I were asked which area my clients find the most daunting, I would definitely say paper clutter. As we are in the midst of tax time, this problem area becomes more evident. Paper accumulates quite rapidly, it is easy to stash, and there can be great apprehension to toss (with good reason).

Like everything else, you need to come up with a system. You need to toss immediately what you don’t need, and sort and file the important papers. Don’t allow the clutter to build up. This is step #1.

Prior to our home fire, I literally hoarded all types of papers. I kept all paid bills, used duplicate style checkbooks, receipts, magazines, years of pay stubs, and piles of insurance papers (medical, house, and car). I kept everything because I really did not have a clue what I needed to keep and for how long. In addition to not knowing what to keep, I also had an ineffective filing system. If I needed to find something, it was nearly impossible because it was buried in a pile of clutter. After the fire I realized 99% of what I had kept was really not necessary. Read the rest »