Week 8: Organize
Your Receipts
Quite honestly, this is a serious bad habit of mine. I let
receipts fill my purse. And then never reconcile against my bank account. I’ve
been fortunate that I’ve never had anything go wrong, but now that I’ve said
that, surely something will. So, now is as good at time as any to start. The best way to keep your receipts organizes
is to have a plan and home for them.
·
Gather all
of your loose receipts. Sort them into piles such as: check card/ATM,
credit card, tax-deductibles, work-related, gift receipts, etc…
·
Record
check card/ATM/cash receipts. Reconcile with your bank then shred anything
with any personal information.
·
Place tax-deductible
receipts in your tax file. This will make next years preparation easier.
·
Take work-related
expenses to work. File an expense report. Get paid back for those NOW!
·
Record
rebates & received gift receipts on your to-do list. These usually have
a time frame, so get on that!
·
If you are
trying to create a budget, sort purchases by category. Grocery, gas,
clothes, entertainment, gifts, etc…
·
Organize
and file what you chose to save. Either by month or category. Sometime soon
I’ll post a blog about what should be kept and what should be tossed and what
should be shredded.
·
Start a
new habit by cleaning out the receipts frequently. Only you can know how
often this is necessary for you. Daily, weekly, monthly, etc… Clean, record
then toss/file.
·
Keep a
zippered pouch for receipts in your purse. If you’re a dude, I have no advice,
sorry.
·
Once a Month: Clean out your receipts from your purse/wallet. I’ve already
covered this.
·
Every 3-6 Months: Toss gift receipts and rebates. They are probably expired by now.
·
Once a Year: Purge last years tax-receipts.
