File Receipts? What a Novel Idea.

By Lee Martin

I procrastinate a lot and when I'm not procrastinating I'm putting things off.  One of the things I hate to do is file.  I'll just pile my receipts on the dresser until I can't find my deodorant anymore.  My tax guy just loves to see me come.  My file folder is a couple of large envelopes stuffed with receipts from every place I wrote a check to or used my check card with.

Once in a while I'll get tired of how I live my life and I'll decide I need to get it in order.  Getting things in order always seem to begin with cleaning off my dresser. I find all kinds of really neat things on my dresser. One time I lost my wedding ring for a really long time.  You want to guess where I found it?  One month we got really behind in our bills.  I was so frustrated that I cleaned off the dresser and in the process I found a paycheck I forgot to deposit.  No wonder I was behind on my bills.

Recently I determined I really was going to get things in order.  I was going to get control of my life.  I was going to dig out of debt.  Digging out of debt is a pretty good way of saying it.  From the looks of my dresser it's going to take a shovel and trash can even get started.

My former job brought me into a lot of homes.  I discovered that I'm not the only one who has a pretty poor filing system. I came up with the idea of how to create a filing system, it's not original with me, but for the life of my I don't remember who told me about it.  The process is pretty simple.  Two sets of file folders, one for monthly bills to be paid, one for each day of the month. Secondly a set of twelve file folders one for each month, put the receipts in these.

This all sounds pretty simple and it is. Look at it this way, if nothing else good happens, you'll at least be able to find other stuff that you keep on your dresser.