Create Your Own Bill Organizer
I'm In Debt
- Posted:
5/15/2008
My son's school does a fundraiser every other month it seems. In several of the fundraiser product catalogs, I saw spiral bound bill organizers for sale (it was priced around $15, plus shipping). I like to support my son's school of course, but I prefer to do it by volunteering my time and donating money for events rather than buying from the fundraiser catalogs because the school only gets a small percentage of the money spent on the overpriced products.
I liked the idea of the bill organizer, though, and created my own for free (because I had the stuff in my office supply stash already, but I'd say you could make one for about $5 if you had to buy the supplies). Here is an easy way to get yourself organized so that you are never late paying a bill again:
Supplies Needed:* 3 ring binder
* 6 pocket folders (like kids use in school)
* hole punch
*scissors or paper trimmer
* marker or pen
What to do:Open your pocket folders and cut them down the center. You'll end up with 12 "half" folders with a pocket in each. Label the bottom of each pocket with the months of the year so that you have one for each month.
On the top half of the folder, above the pocket, you can hand write (or print from your computer) a sheet to write on. I used excel and made aa quick table like this:
Due Date Description Amount Paid
5/9 Internet $49 5/7
5/22 Insurance $88
And I had excel print out several blank lines under each of the categories, so that as a bill comes in that's due in May, I can slide it into the pocket and log it onto the sheet with the date it's due, what it is, how much is owed. Once I pay the bill, I write in the date it was paid, and remove the bill from the pocket.
I used a three-hole punch on the left edge each of my "half" pockets and slid them into the binder, starting with May, since that's the month we're in. You can just move them around as you need them and keep the current month on top or flip to the current month, whichever your preference.
For bills that you don't have statements for, you can just write in the amount on the chart of the folder for the month it's due, so that you know it's due even without having a statement in the pocket. My school loans are deducted automatically from my checking account, but I write them down on my folders so that I have a constant, visual reminder of when they're due and how much is going to be deducted.
This system seems to be working fairly well for me. Sometimes I get busy and I slide the bill into the folder for the month it's due without logging it on the sheet- but that can get pretty messy so if you're going to work with this type of bill organizing system, you really have to commit to it and make sure you always write the information in quickly as you slide your statements into the folder. It's a nice way to keep everything in one place and give you an at-a-glance look at what's coming due.
As a bonus, I've also started sliding birthday cards and anniversary cards into the months when I know I have to mail cards out to friends and family. If I see them on sale at the store, or I get creative and feel like making a card or two, when I finish I just put it into the appropriate month so that I don't forget to mail it when it's time.
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