Some of you may not know this about me, but I’m pretty much OCD about being organized. I can’t think when my office is a mess with papers that need filed, and other things that stack up. I like to keep my inbox as close to 0 as possible by filing everything into it’s applicable folder, and I create calendar events for everything in my life so I don’t forget anything. I’m also a huge fan of using budget spreadsheets to help me plan my monthly budgets and budgets for special projects or extra income.
Luckily, my tendency to be almost overly-organized has helped me out financially a few times. Here are 5 examples of how being organized can help your finances.
Never Missing a Payment Date
My debt tracker helps me stay on top of the several credit cards and other debts I have so I never miss a payment. We all know missing a payment or even just sending it in too late can have a devastating effect on your credit score, and maybe even cause you to get into debt. So not missing a payment date is a huge benefit of being organized.
Keeping Track of Deadlines
As a freelancer, keeping track of deadlines for when my work is due to clients is important. Luckily, my organization skills help with this too. I keep a detailed, color-coded calendar of when things are assigned, when they are due, and more. This helps keep me on-track with my business and make sure I keep my clients happy too.
Noticing Suspicious Activity
One way I stay on top of my personal finances is by checking my bank account every single day. I watch my account closely to make sure I’m on track with my budget. I also look over my credit card statements and bills closely too. Another benefit of this is that I can quickly catch any suspicious activity on my accounts and get it fixed before I get scammed out of all of my money.
Saving Money
Being organized also means that I can easily save money by using coupons and discounts by stacking them with store sales. I have an organization system in place to make sure I save the most money possible on things I plan to purchase anyway.
Another example of how organization saves me money is by allowing me to easily return items that are defective or that I’ve changed my mind out. I save all of my receipts and I file them in organized and labeled folders so I can find them if I even need to make a return. It also makes filing my taxes every year that much easier too.
Staying on Top of Maintenance
As a car and home owner, I need to perform regular maintenance on my belongings. I know they’ll last longer and cost me less in the long-run if I invest my time and money into regular maintenance. In order to not forget anything the needs to be done to keep my car and home in tip-top shape, I keep a checklist of things that need to be done so I can easily mark them off when they’re done.
Being organized sometimes means being a little less spontaneous, but being organized can also have a lot of benefits – financially and otherwise.
