Comments on: Disorderly Conduct

By: Ajana

Ajana — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 05:05:20 +0000

Good to have all this information condensed in one place.

I now get most of my bills by e-mail. Not only it is cheaper (some companies charge for paper bills), it saving filing (of course I save the email) and I can pay the bills at the same time, online. It takes seconds.

I must confess I got to the point, like some of Gail’s TDDUP couples, where I didn’t read my bank and CC statements. I read them now and this month I saw I was overcharged on an item. A quick follow-up got me a refund which I would never have gotten pre-Gail - it can literally pay to go through your statements, or cost you if you don’t.

Being organised = a whole lot less stress!

By: Frugal Trenches

Frugal Trenches — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 12:13:08 +0000

Those are some great tips! Thank you

By: Holly

Holly — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 14:49:06 +0000

We haven’t stuffed out office in a box full enough to have to start removing things quarterly/annually/etc, so I assume that will take some time in the future, for as for paying bills… when we get a bill, we pay it immediately, and put it in the “paid” folder. It takes 5 minutes.

By: Stephanie H

Stephanie H — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 14:36:33 +0000

I think Gails point with the dates is to pick two per month. Mine would be the 7th and the 21st. They are the dates in which I know my pay check will be in my account depending on the day of the week I get paid vs when the weekends and holidays. I actually will look at my account and mentally subtrack standard amounts when I look at the balance. This was a timely post for me since I am just getting ready to revamp my bill paying system.

By: Claire

Claire — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 13:23:02 +0000

Gail, it’s interesting to see you suggest paying bills on the 12th and 28th. That was what got me in trouble years ago was waiting to pay bills and my X-hubby would see money in the account and go for lunch, buy himself something nice etc. Now I pay bills on payday. As soon as I have been t the bank and deposited my paycheque I come home and pay my bills online. I pay the same amount EVERY single month as I have rounded them up to the nearest $10. For example : my phone bill is $92.95 per month but every month on payday I pay $100. I do it with all of my bills and have divided them up into my 2 paycheques per month. The mortgage is due on the 1st and so on the middle of the month paycheque I get the money order for my hunny to put my half into the “house fund” account.
When the bills come in I check them for any unexpected charges and compare them to the month before…..yes I have phone Telus and them them know they over charged me by $1.50 and had them credit it to my account! LOL (I was mad that I didn’t know charges were going up and they double billed me so I demanded my $1.50 back…must have been a pms day LOL )
Every year I get a “free” month which I usually take around Chrismtas to have a little extra spending money for gifts, baking items extra. I know I could be putting that extra money into my savings over the course of the year but as it is a few $ and cents each month I would feel silly going into the bank with it to deposit so this way I still can’t touch it.
I also take my savings out on payday and then whatever is left in my account minus grocery money and 2 direct debits is “play” money. Anything left over at the end of the month goes into the savings or if it is less than $100 it stays put for next month.
I was in financial trouble when I was with X-hubby and I am now anal about making sure that never NEVER happens again. Dealing with creditors is not fun nor is meeting the behind the scenes people at the bank. From that though I have made sure to always open bills (even if you have your eyes closed and just peek at the bottom figure! lol) and to keep everything to prove how much you are spending/saving/have flowing through.

By: Melaniesd

Melaniesd — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 01:37:36 +0000

I set up a simular file system over 5 years ago. It’s provided so much peace of mind when I’ve needed to find something because I know just where to look.
I keep a “to file” folder on my computer desk and once a month I file everything in it’s appropriate file.

Great info Gail!

By: Rebecca

Rebecca — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 00:32:44 +0000

Wow, thanks for the info. I had no idea that I should keep my pay stubs or bank statements for any length of time; I’ve been treating them as “read and chuck” documents. I’ve already got the file bin and the folders with the intention of undertaking this organizational task, but I haven’t sorted everything into them yet.

When it comes to the accounting in the budget binder, does the binder have to be a physical binder? I’ve been keeping track of my expenses in an Excel spreadsheet (backed up, of course).

By: Wandabfree

Wandabfree — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 19:38:21 +0000

Tracey, thanks for the information on the ‘lost and found’ item. I went out on my lunch hour and took at look at it. I am notorious for losing my name tag that I have to use to log in and out at work. I have lost it so many times that I wear a fake name tag so that if IT is lost I don’t have to go to my supervisor and ask for another one. I keep the one that I log in and out with, in my purse but to be honest, I still can lose it. Since this alarm can attach to my name tag, I won’t be as apt to lose it and if I do, I can buzz for it assuming it is somewhere at home. My DIL who lives with me is famous for losing keys so I did pick up a set for her as well. They were originally selling for $29. and now they are on for $8.96. The product is only as good as the person using it so I hope I can be successful with it.

By: Tracy J

Tracy J — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 15:38:08 +0000

WOW! That one is STUFFED with useful information… I never how long I had to keep stuff ( I played is safe and kept everything for 10 years).
I tend to set up payment on my bills the moment they come in the house (or if the computer is off, then I put it on the monitor so it’s the first thing I do when it gets turned on). I write on the bill “paid/account#/date” then file it in my outbox right behind where I sit. Part of the “touch it once” system with mail… it works for me and gives me piece of mind.

BTW: I lose my keys all the time too! I have finally found a solution… I have a “beeper” on my keychain. I found a crazy green beeper set at the Source (it’s supposed to be for kids that lose their backpacks) It’s about the size of a FOB and the remote looks like a toy cellphone. The remote stays in one spot in my front entrance and if I can’t find my keys I call them at the press of a button, VIOLA! I hear a cute little noise that calls me to my keys (usually under paper on my desk).
It came with 3 of these FOBS each with a different noise and 3 call buttons, so I have the one on my keys, and another on my hairbrush (I hate losing my favourite hairbrush!). I haven’t thought what the third one will go on yet…