There is nothing particularly newsworthy happening in my life right now. Some days it's just about doing the same things you did yesterday. The Zen proverb is the point: Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water; after enlightenment, chop wood, carry water.

 

I'm someone who struggles with some of those mundane, repeating tasks that are part of everyday life. Washing clothes is the major offender, and I've solved that by not buying any more underwear so that if I run out I'm forced to do the laundry.

 

Keeping dust and dirt at bay is another of my resistant behaviors because no matter how well I do it today, I'll need to so it again soon. My solution to this is to do it as soon as I see it. Pile of dirt? Sweep it up. Dust on the bookcase? Wipe it off. In the moment.

 

And then there are the dishes. I somehow feel as though cooking should entitle me to delay on the dishwashing. On the website, flylady.net (which is smack full of great housekeeping ideas and solutions to the mundane), she recommends that the kitchen be clean and the sink wiped up before one goes to bed. The best I can seem to do is to tackle it first thing in the morning. Sorry flylady.

 

Today's article is about those everyday items that make up our money lives. We need to find solutions for them, too. Part of my journey was to be intrigued by these

solutions and make it my profession to help others with the mysteries of money. I hope the ideas that follow help you find solutions to the mundane in your money life!  

 

And remember, I'm only an email or call away.

 

 

Until next time,

 

sb  

Didn't I Just DO That?
By Susan Bross, Money Coach

I still get some bills by mail. There are many days that I get back from the mailbox with a bill that I could swear I just paid. But, no, it was a few weeks ago that I paid it. Time just collapses sometimes.

 

Every month all year long, we're expected to do repeated money tasks that are easy to forget, forego or procrastinate over. We stress about when we're going to do it, how we should be doing it, and what we need to put in place to make the doing of it easier and predictable.

 

This article is about just those tasks, and some ideas about doing them in a sustainably easier way that gives them less thought and more effectiveness. Let's start with bill paying, since I've already brought that up.

 

Bill Paying

It seems like we get bills every day, and we need to have a way to make the paying of them effortless. Here are some ideas:

• Determine a bill-pay meeting with yourself: When I was an employee my rule was to sit down the first Saturday after I was paid, every time I was paid, to pay bills.   Having a routine like this keeps bills from sliding between the cracks.
• Pay them as they arrive: Since then I've set up for myself and my clients a Bill Pay account that is funded in a measured way whenever there is income. This isn't the account that has a debit card nor from which ATM withdrawals are made. This is solely for monthly bills. That way you can pay bills as soon as they arrive and not have any pile-up.

Paperwork

What happened to that concept of a paperless society? My experience is a whole lot of paperwork that can pile up easily. Paperwork retention is still an issue because of IRS audits, inaccurate information retrieval by creditors (old debts that reappear later), and financial transactions that have great meaning (selling of properties, payoff of debts, investments closed, etc.). What are your choices?

• Do it right away. Have a file cabinet near your operating area, and when you complete something, file the paperwork away.  
• Scan papers into the computer into folders. What you don't receive electronically you can scan into the computer and put in folders that are labeled in a way that makes them easy for you to find. This will also simplify doing your taxes.
• Tax file for current year. Gather all your tax related documents into one file or folder so that you have everything in one place when tax time is necessary.

Communication about Money

I have heard over and over again how couples will talk about financial matters in passing, and unfortunately the information isn't received or heard appropriately and the tasks aren't completed. It's frustrating and irritating all around. Here's my solution.

• Routine couple's financial meeting: On a weekly basis, set a day/time that is dedicated for a half an hour (no longer than an hour) to discussing financial issues, tasks, and numbers. You can count on this specific forum for discussing financial matters. Come in with an agenda and leave with action plans that you're accountable for in the next meeting. Stay away from concepts and stick with the numbers...your money style differences live in conceptual conversations. Develop your agenda all week and talk about money only then if at all possible.

Mail

Don't put the mail down until you've sorted it. Piles are your enemy in terms of daily tasks.

• Recycling: Put the junk mail immediately into the recycling bin.
• Shredding: Put the credit offers in your shredding bin, along with the checks you get from the credit card companies.
• Bills: Put them into a file or container next to where you pay bills.
• Personal mail (if any): you can enjoy at your leisure.

Yes, you did do it yesterday, and you'll have to do it tomorrow. But setting up a system and having routines get the daily-weekly-yearly tasks done without taking up a lot of your mental space, time or effort.

 

It is my passion to help you make your money life less stressful and more rewarding in so many ways. Do you need systems and perhaps a template for how your income can be used effectively and effortlessly? That's my expertise. Please call or email me so that we can take the "ick" out of your efforts and keep the "arghhs!" at bay. And maybe we can swap ideas about dealing with the other mundane elements of life.

 

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415-479-1290