Often I help clients organize their financial documents and create overall filing systems and inevitably a conversation comes up about their overall financial situation. Usually, people bring me in to help with their disorganized filing systems, kitchens or closets. However, it often comes out that they are also too disorganized to deal with their money. And to me, this makes total sense! Clutter and disorganization in any area of our life makes you feel out of control. Why would your finances be any different or immune to this?
How could you pay your bills on time when you can't locate them in the piles of paperwork on your desk? Or how can you deal with your credit card statements if they are not in a proper filing place? Often I guide people to a great book by Jean Chatzky called "Make Money, Not Excuses," which talks about the most common excuses people make for why they aren't prepared for retirement and, in a nutshell, why they aren't rich. It is a great read and Chatzky provides solutions to the most common financial “clutter” situations and shows you there are ways to handle them (this is the key part!).
A common problem is this: a lack of organization in one’s home can lead to higher interest rates, bad credit, costly late fees, etc. It also costs people time spent searching for things they’ve misplaced or rearranging the piles on their desks. As a professional organizer, this lack of awareness of the connection between the clutter that fills your home and the problems that you have with finances is something I see almost daily.
So why not get organized, and eliminate this problem right now? It can be a tough project to tackle, but as you begin to make progress, you'll find that you feel happier — both with your finances, and with life in general...I promise!
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