The bill pay center: Keeping track of bills can be a challenge for some folks, which is why I love to recommend creating a bill pay center. This can be as simple or as elaborate as you want, but no matter what, the key to an effective center always comes down to a couple key tools: a calendar and a sorter. Use a wall calendar to mark which bills are due by when and use the sorter for keeping paper bills in order so you know how much  to pay by when. Bonus tip: sort and stagger your bills by due date, with first of the month bills in front and mid to late month last.

Digital Realms:  in February, I spoke to the virtues of a few apps that can help make life a tad easier. If you recall, one of those apps is Pageonce. If you’re more inclined to stay organized electronically, this is an amazing app for managing money and reminders! If an app is a little too scary, no worries.  Another handy tool for managing your bills is to take advantage of your bank’s bill pay service. You can schedule payments in advance the moment you receive your bill, or pay as you go. This removes the burden of you tracking when to pay and simply does it automatically. You can also set up automatic transfers to your savings, ensuring that as you spend, you are also growing a financial reserve.

Cash Out: since discretionary spending can often be the hardest to control, and it is the area of the budget that can go bust fast without careful monitoring, consider using a cash-only allowance for things such as coffee, restaurants, movies, museums, clothes, etc. Only take out the amount of cash you budgeted and draw upon it for your activities vs. using credit cards or debit cards. It is sooo easy to spend using debit cards and not keep track of where it is going. Using cash creates tangible awareness of when you spend and how much, and keeps you on budget because you can’t go over. I like this practice because it brings total awareness to what you got—you  can actually see the dollars you have to spend and instantly know your limits. Try this method and give your budget a chance to succeed.

Bonus tip: if you struggle managing multiple discretionary spend areas, such as eating out and entertainment, label envelopes and place your weekly allowance for each area within the envelope. Draw from each when needed.

Sort it out: making sense of your budget begins with understanding where your money is going and how you want to spend it in order to reach your personal financial goals, be it saving for a house, paying off a student loan, or dreaming about that Hawaiian vacation next year. I really like what Karen Lee, a certified financial professional from Atlanta recommends. On a piece of paper or in a spreadsheet, write the following column headers:

1)      Necessity
2)      Necessity with Wiggle Room
3)      Discretionary

Next, make a list of your expenses and organize them under each header. Mortgage, rent and car payments are necessities and often have fixed payments. Insurance, food, utilities are necessities with room to adjust. For instance, with some planning, you can reduce your monthly food and utility bills by moderating your consumption. Morning lattes, movies, happy hours, manis and pedis are all wonderful, but are not true necessities—no matter how you try to justify those sweet indulgences—and can be trimmed back or eliminated entirely, so they fall into the discretionary column.

Add everything up: do you have money leftover? Put that extra money toward paying down debt or saving for that big spend. Don’t have anything left over? Look to the “Necessity with Wiggle Room” and “Discretionary” columns to find ways to scale back and start accruing some leftovers. Even if it is only a few bucks a month, you’ll be closer to achieving your financial goals than doing nothing. Plus, by organizing and tracking your expenses this way, you’ll be more aware and in control of your money, and can better steer it based on where you want to go in life!

With an exposed, open-space kitchen slowly becoming overrun with large countertop appliances and mail piling up with no home, this couple was  looking for a way to gain more space, remove the unsightly counter clutter and test new habits for mail collection and recycling. We identified a narrow 3-foot wide wall as the perfect place to free up some space for lighter items and books taking up valuable countertop areas, as well as discussed a method they felt comfortable employing for mail control. Check out how we took a plain, underused wall and transformed it into a wall with purpose!

For starters, I like being as efficient and mobile as possible (surprise!). And that’s not entirely possible when lugging around huge suitcases. I highly recommend carry-on only luggage. We live in a modern world where almost anything you can ever possibly want or need is available at almost every destination. Why over pack, wait in long baggage check lines and break your back bringing along everything you own? Consider these easy and thoroughly manageable tips, and say, “so long!” to those huge suitcases taking up valuable space in your closet:

1)      Mix n’ match: limit your clothing to a few mix n’ match pieces you can layer and extend into several outfits, such as a couple pairs of pants, a pair of jeans matched to four shirts, a scarf, a light sweater and of a pair easy wearing, versatile shoes. Plan your outfit combos ahead of time to determine if you have the right pieces. You can always wash your clothes on the go, and you won’t be bogged down with too much stuff.

2)      Drop, roll & pack: while looking at your outfits and a 21” carry on, you may be thinking, “how am I ever going to fit everything?!?” Well, I’m telling you: it can be done! Rolling clothes is an easy method I adore and have found to be very effective for maximizing space. Instead of folding clothes, roll each item and neatly stack on top of each other. You’ll be able to fit more clothes in your bag! In the photo example, my small carry on has two pairs of jeans, one pair of pants, six shirts, an extra pair of shoes, pajamas, swimsuit, flip flops, undergarments, miniature toiletries, makeup, electronics, and books. Yes, I kid you not! Roll with it, baby!

3)      Think small: pack smaller versions of your toiletries or shift them to small containers. If you run out, buy some more at your destination. Also: bring a collapsible shopping bag to serve as another carry on for your purchases. The one I own folds down to the size of a deck of cards. Fabulous!

4)      Don’t forget the creature comforts: wear comfy airplane clothes and place in your purse or personal carry-on a pair of socks, an inflatable travel pillow, travel blanket, healthy snacks and an e-reader or another form of entertainment. You may be on a flight for a long while. Give yourself permission for comforts that don’t hog all your space.

Bon voyage!

1)      Folder  #1: Income documents  (W-2, 1099, 1099-DIV, 1099-INT, investment income, other)

2)      Folder  #2: Expenses and deductions (property taxes, mortgage interest, charitable donations, motor vehicle deductions)

3)      Folder  #3: Investments (IRA, stocks)

Once you have filed your taxes for the current year, place the copy of your tax return and all the above supporting information from all three folders, into one large envelope labeled with the current tax year (i.e. 2012 Taxes). Store in a filing cabinet, portable filing unit or designated area, along with the prior six (6) years of tax return information – you always want the current year, plus the prior six years…just in case the tax man comes knocking. Reuse the same three folders you created for every new tax year. Tax time made easy!

Grid-It Ultimate Organizer:
This truly wonderful find is a life saver. I love it!  Its black mat is covered in rubberized woven elastics. Just pull an elastic up, slide your gadget, gizmo, or cord underneath, and let it snap back in place. Presto! No more clutter bag!

Joey Junior Purse Organizer:
Small but mighty, this product serves as an insert for your bag or purse. Simply slip the Mini Purse Mate inside your handbag and then organize your items into the four pockets. Voila! No more lipstick diving for you!

Cable Monkey Cable Organizer:

Wrap this little monkey’s arms around your cables to help organize your mess! Cute and fun, this adds a little whimsy and function to wrangling all those cables you have lying around for your entertainment systems and home office or computer areas, making things more tidy and easier to control.

Cordies Cable Organizer:

I love this product for managing desktop cables and all those plugs that you need when switching out devices, printers and scanners. It’s weighted, sturdy and not ugly, which is a nice bonus. Each slot can fit two or three cables, and keeps them organized and ready to deploy when needed. No more searching behind your desk for cables that slipped into a dust bunny heaven!