Organizing Taxes
Please don’t throw rotten eggs at me for mentioning these words especially for mentioning them now. I mean we have a couple of months before we need to think about it right? I am one of those sickening people who have their taxes done and in the mail by the first or second week of February. So please forgive me. : )
You may not realize it but it can save you money by having your taxes done early if you are getting a refund. The earlier you get your taxes done the sooner you will get your money back and you can apply it to your credit card debit, house mortgage etc. You can save 2, 3 or more months interest on these things. Every minute you procrastinate means you are losing money.
Also, if you are in debt up to your eyeballs or unemployed don’t even consider using that money for a vacation, big screen TV or having a swimming pool put in your yard. Give yourself a good shake and start taking control of your finances and stop allowing your finances to control you. Get some backbone.
Here are a few ideas I thought might help you “normal” people who sometimes (always??) wait until April 15 at midnight to mail your returns.
Half the battle is trying to find the paperwork you will need. Once a year I go through my papers, desk, file cabinets etc. I usually do it in January so I can start fresh for the year. If you can get that done ahead of time the rest of the process will go much easier.
Start with your desk and piles of papers you have laying around and then work your way to your file cabinet. Use the following things to help you.
Move Quickly – you don’t have to throughly read each and every paper. At a quick glance you should be able to place it in the pile or box it belongs in. Now is not the time to study and think about each item.
Place in one of four piles – everything can usually go in 1 of these 4 piles. If you have mounds of papers and a mess you may want to put them in boxes instead of a pile. Here are your 4 piles:
1. Trash – if you need to shred things then place in a bin or bag to shred at a later time. Now is not the time to shred one paper at a time.
2. File – these are things you don’t need to do anything with but you do need to keep and file. Place them in a box to set by the file cabinet and file later. If you have a lot of filing you may want to set aside one whole day for this because before/or as you are filing the new items, you will want to go through each file folder and toss what you no longer need in it.
3. Bills – put these in a separate pile to go through and take care of as soon as you are done sorting.
4. Correspondence – these are things you need to make phone calls about or deal with in some way. Take care of these by placing them in order of importance or date. This should be done after you have dealt with the bills.
Papers and laundry seem to be two things which get out of control in people’s lives. The secret to keeping it under control is to stay on top of it and to follow through with it. In the same way you shouldn’t leave laundry laying around in piles after it is dried, you shouldn’t leave paperwork laying around after you first look at it.
While you have it still in your hand place it in the trash, to file, with the bills or in the correspondence pile. Keep a trash can by your desk and 3 trays, file folders or even separate piles on your desk or counter. One tray for file, one for bills and one for correspondence. If you can’t figure out what pile something should go in then add a Misc. file or tray too.
As far as taxes go I keep a separate file for things I know I will need for my taxes.
Also be ruthless. We usually keep way more papers then we need to. For example unless you have your own business at home you really don’t need to keep 5 years worth of utility bills. I keep 3 months worth just in case I need to show I have lived in my home for a certain amount of time.
Each person is different but if you have a question call your accountant or the IRS now ( don’t wait until April 10 because you won’t get through) and find out exactly what you need to keep.
Check out our website for more info on organizing your paperwork if you need to but these basics should help you get started.
Jill
Continue reading Organizing Taxes …
From Living On A Dime Blog » Living On A Dime Blog.
Halloween party planning kit at Domino Sugar
Domino Sugar has posted a Halloween Party Planning Kit on its site. The ideas and instructions feature easy and frugal projects for freaky food and kids’ games.
For example, buckeye candies are a really popular treat among my Ohio friends. The crew at Domino’s sugar has turned those peanut butter and chocolate bonbons into “Zombie Eyeballs” with just a little bit of decoration.
The monster hands and the pumpkin cake are among the projects I’ve mentioned earlier this season – go see my holiday archives.
Continue reading Halloween party planning kit at Domino Sugar …
From Monroe on a Budget.
Halloween party planning kit at Domino Sugar
Domino Sugar has posted a Halloween Party Planning Kit on its site. The ideas and instructions feature easy and frugal projects for freaky food and kids’ games.
For example, buckeye candies are a really popular treat among my Ohio friends. The crew at Domino’s sugar has turned those peanut butter and chocolate bonbons into “Zombie Eyeballs” with just a little bit of decoration.
The monster hands and the pumpkin cake are among the projects I’ve mentioned earlier this season – go see my holiday archives.
Continue reading Halloween party planning kit at Domino Sugar …
From Monroe on a Budget.
Halloween party planning kit at Domino Sugar
Domino Sugar has posted a Halloween Party Planning Kit on its site. The ideas and instructions feature easy and frugal projects for freaky food and kids’ games.
For example, buckeye candies are a really popular treat among my Ohio friends. The crew at Domino’s sugar has turned those peanut butter and chocolate bonbons into “Zombie Eyeballs” with just a little bit of decoration.
The monster hands and the pumpkin cake are among the projects I’ve mentioned earlier this season – go see my holiday archives.
Continue reading Halloween party planning kit at Domino Sugar …
From Monroe on a Budget.
Halloween party planning kit at Domino Sugar
Domino Sugar has posted a Halloween Party Planning Kit on its site. The ideas and instructions feature easy and frugal projects for freaky food and kids’ games.
For example, buckeye candies are a really popular treat among my Ohio friends. The crew at Domino’s sugar has turned those peanut butter and chocolate bonbons into “Zombie Eyeballs” with just a little bit of decoration.
The monster hands and the pumpkin cake are among the projects I’ve mentioned earlier this season – go see my holiday archives.
Continue reading Halloween party planning kit at Domino Sugar …
From Monroe on a Budget.
Halloween party planning kit at Domino Sugar
Domino Sugar has posted a Halloween Party Planning Kit on its site. The ideas and instructions feature easy and frugal projects for freaky food and kids’ games.
For example, buckeye candies are a really popular treat among my Ohio friends. The crew at Domino’s sugar has turned those peanut butter and chocolate bonbons into “Zombie Eyeballs” with just a little bit of decoration.
The monster hands and the pumpkin cake are among the projects I’ve mentioned earlier this season – go see my holiday archives.
Continue reading Halloween party planning kit at Domino Sugar …
From Monroe on a Budget.
Halloween party planning kit at Domino Sugar
Domino Sugar has posted a Halloween Party Planning Kit on its site. The ideas and instructions feature easy and frugal projects for freaky food and kids’ games.
For example, buckeye candies are a really popular treat among my Ohio friends. The crew at Domino’s sugar has turned those peanut butter and chocolate bonbons into “Zombie Eyeballs” with just a little bit of decoration.
The monster hands and the pumpkin cake are among the projects I’ve mentioned earlier this season – go see my holiday archives.
Continue reading Halloween party planning kit at Domino Sugar …
From Monroe on a Budget.
Halloween party planning kit at Domino Sugar
Domino Sugar has posted a Halloween Party Planning Kit on its site. The ideas and instructions feature easy and frugal projects for freaky food and kids’ games.
For example, buckeye candies are a really popular treat among my Ohio friends. The crew at Domino’s sugar has turned those peanut butter and chocolate bonbons into “Zombie Eyeballs” with just a little bit of decoration.
The monster hands and the pumpkin cake are among the projects I’ve mentioned earlier this season – go see my holiday archives.
Continue reading Halloween party planning kit at Domino Sugar …
From Monroe on a Budget.
Halloween party planning kit at Domino Sugar
Domino Sugar has posted a Halloween Party Planning Kit on its site. The ideas and instructions feature easy and frugal projects for freaky food and kids’ games.
For example, buckeye candies are a really popular treat among my Ohio friends. The crew at Domino’s sugar has turned those peanut butter and chocolate bonbons into “Zombie Eyeballs” with just a little bit of decoration.
The monster hands and the pumpkin cake are among the projects I’ve mentioned earlier this season – go see my holiday archives.
Continue reading Halloween party planning kit at Domino Sugar …
From Monroe on a Budget.
Halloween party planning kit at Domino Sugar
Domino Sugar has posted a Halloween Party Planning Kit on its site. The ideas and instructions feature easy and frugal projects for freaky food and kids’ games.
For example, buckeye candies are a really popular treat among my Ohio friends. The crew at Domino’s sugar has turned those peanut butter and chocolate bonbons into “Zombie Eyeballs” with just a little bit of decoration.
The monster hands and the pumpkin cake are among the projects I’ve mentioned earlier this season – go see my holiday archives.
Continue reading Halloween party planning kit at Domino Sugar …
From Monroe on a Budget.