Thursday | February 09, 2012
Planning Life’s Road Trip: Organizing Bills & Identity Theft
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By
Bill Pratt
12 May 2009
This article is part of our 52 week journey through Bill’s latest book, The Graduate’s Guide to Life and Money. Each week, a full excerpt from his book will be presented from beginning to end. To get your copy of his book, visit www.TheGraduatesGuide.com.
Last week discussed how to get organized, what files to create, and the one place you should NEVER have your social security card. This week we will cover how to organize your regular bills, discuss key strategies for staying organized, and look at ways to avoid identity theft.
In a separate file, you may want to keep a bill organizer. Bill organizers can be purchased at low cost at almost any office store. You can organize your bills by due date or by keeping all the payment stubs of each kind together and keep your bills that are still due in another folder. You can also use one of those desktop organizers that have at least 31 slots. That way you put the bill in whichever slot corresponds to the due date (or the date you want to send the payment). I also like to keep a chart that lists all of my bills and their due dates. That way each month when I pay them, I place a checkmark in that month’s column. Just try to find whatever method keeps you from missing your payment due dates.
Receipts may be one of the biggest pains you’ll deal with when you try to stay organized. Unless you use your receipts to track your spending, you can just throw away any receipt from a purchase made in cash, such as gas, groceries, or dinner. If you paid by credit card, make sure your account number does not appear on the receipt. If it does, you should shred it.
You do need to keep your warranty information when you make a purchase. The easiest way is to make one of your files for warranties and put all of the information in this file. You could also use a manila folder to keep the receipts for those items so they won’t get lost. Believe me, when your surround sound system breaks (the one you paid way too much money for) you’ll be happy you can find your warranty information right away. Once a warranty expires, just toss the receipt. If you really want to be organized, keep a sheet of paper in the envelope (or just write on the outside of the envelope) and list the name of the item and the date of expiration (Washer & Dryer: June 5, 2010). You can always go back and clean out the outdated receipts when you get free time. Whatever you do, be consistent. Don’t put half of your warranty receipts in one place and do something different with the rest. Just pick a system and stick with it.
I will be the first to point out that having a cluttered desk can lead to a cluttered life. The opposite is also true. Trust me; I am the authority on messy desks. When my desk is clean and everything is organized, I’m ready to go. I’m ready to be productive! It’s so invigorating to actually see the wood grain. (“You were right, my desk is maple.”) Of course the other option is to get a laptop computer and just move it somewhere clean (I don’t think my wife has caught on to me yet). When everything is messy on the other hand, I tend to be more tired. I can get overwhelmed just staring at my desk. There isn’t enough room to work, and I can’t really find anything. Two good rules to remember:
1. Only touch each piece of paper once. In other words, get it out of your inbox and either file it or take care of it.
2. As soon as you are done with something, put it away.
Identity theft is also a major concern, and good record keeping can help you avoid, or minimize the damage from, identity theft. By keeping good records, such as bank and credit card statements, you can easily identify unauthorized account activity (that sounds very attorney-like, doesn’t it?). Below are a few common safety precautions to keep in mind:
- Never carry your social security card in your wallet. If a thief gets your driver’s license and social security card, you could be in serious trouble.
- Do not have your social security number printed on your checks.
- Make a list of everything you keep in your wallet (or purse). You need the names, telephone numbers, and account numbers from each card. Better yet, photocopy everything front and back. Keep these copies wherever you file your other records.
- Do not just throw away credit card solicitations, but shred them or burn them. You can recycle everything but the part that has any of your personal information.
- You can contact the major credit bureaus and request that no new accounts be open in your name without written consent.
You have two small assignments. First, set up some sort of filing system, either with notebooks or manila folders or whatever. Create categories like the ones mentioned earlier in the chapter. You should sort through the papers you have scattered about now and put them in the proper file. Try to use this system as new documents come in, and clean it out once per year. Your second assignment is to write down or photocopy the information for everything in your wallet. If something gets lost or stolen this small step could save you hours of trouble. You might also save hundreds of dollars, depending on the fate of your credit and debit cards.
It’s that simple. A little bit of time devoted to being organized, and you will save a lot of time, and headaches, later.
Bill Pratt is a former credit card executive turned student-advocate. He is the author of Extra Credit: The 7 Things Every College Student Needs to Know About Credit Debt & Ca$h and The Graduate’s Guide to Life and Money. Bill speaks at colleges to educate and entertain students about real-life issues in money, leadership, and success. His goal is to help students succeed personally and financially so they can improve the lives of those around them. You can learn more at www.ExtraCreditBook.com or www.TheGraduatesGuide.com.
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I can empathize with your new client. As a child, as for many years as an adult, I had no real confidence in myself, regardless of accomplishments. When I was a child, my parents tried to teach me the lesson of the ‘Little Engine That Could.’ As you recall, it could because it though it could. Whenever they told me that, I say: “but I don’t think I can”, as that was a far as it ever went.
When I was in college I read a science fiction novel in which the main character (if I recall, I don’t really remember the details) was consumed by fear. So he learned this small poem, which I memorized and said it over and over to myself:
“I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain.”
Recently I looked it up. It is from a book by Frank Herbert in the Dune series. Regardless of its origins, it really helped me; it helped that I memorized it and repeated it to myself a million times a day.
Well, there are other things that helped my in conquering fear and in ability to be confident, but that was one of the first steps.