How to organize your Finances
Organizing your finances can be a difficult thing to do and it can add stress to your life if you don’t it. When you keep track of what bills are due with each check, how much you pay, and keep all your bills together, you will be well organized and feel better about everything.
Here are a few tips that will help you organize your finances.
• Track
When you first set out to organize your finances you will need to set aside two or three hours to get this done. Gather all of your bills and go to a quite spot with your computer or pad of paper.
Write down each merchants name, the monthly payment, and the due date. Now organize them so they are in date order. Start with the beginning of the month and work your way to the end. Now write down each pay check and the dollar amount. You need to decide which bills can be paid with each check.
• Budget
Now you need to create a budget. A budget is where you write down everything you spend money on each month. This would include groceries, take out, vehicle maintenance, clothing, etc. The main reason you do this is to look at all of your spending habits. If you are spending more than what you have or you have very little left over at the end of the month, your budget will show you areas that you can eliminate.
• Set budget goals
Whether you are saving for a vacation or trying to get some bills paid off, goals are the best route to take. Without them, you will continue to do the same thing day in and day out with your money. If you want to take a family vacation next summer, your goal may be to get a couple doctor bills paid off within the next few months so you can take that money and put it in savings. This could be the difference between a camping trip and a trip to Disneyland.
• Plan
Planning can be the most difficult part of organizing your budget. The reason for this is that you have to find a way to do this the same time each week or month. Plan this time around your paychecks. For example, if you get paid on Friday, take time on Saturday or Sunday to sit down and pay your bills. The longer that money sits in your account, the more likely you are to spend it. If you get it out of there right away, it won’t be there to spend.
Organizing your finances can be a difficult thing. But, if you follow these steps and set aside time to take care of these each week or every other week, you will do good and you will reach your goals. Keep track of everything and keep it in the same place so you don’t get off kilter and forget what you are doing and forget to pay a bill. Reach your financial goals through organized finances.
Organizing your Garage can be a challenge
The garage can be the messiest part of your home. The main reason for this is because it’s hardly ever seen by others. It can be overlooked because it’s not a place visited regularly. It can also be a catch all for anything you don’t have room for in your home.
This is not good because the purpose of a garage is to park your car. How nice would it be to have your car parked in the garage when it’s snowing outside? I’m sure you would really like that. Not only does it keep your car warmer, but it also saves you time because you won’t have to sweep off the snow and scrape the windows.
Here are some organization tips you can use to clean up your garage, so you will have room for the car.
• Wall Shelves
Shelves are a great place to put cans of paint, spray paint, oil, antifreeze, and any other container like that. When you place them on shelves, you will be able to store items on the floor that can’t go on shelves. You will also have easy access to them when you need them. The downside to wall shelves would the space. They are usually 12-18 inches wide, so you may find things that won’t fit on those shelves.
• Shelving units
These units are wonderful for storing larger items such as air cleaners, car parts, and boxes. There are several different types of shelving units you can purchase. You will be able to purchase these units at Home Depot or Sutherlands. You’ll find plastic, metal, or wood units to choose from. Before you make a purchase you’ll want to measure the area you have to you make sure you don’t buy one that is too big or too small. You will want to measure length, width, and height.
• Hooks
Purchase hooks for bikes so they can hang in the air from your ceiling. You can also purchase hooks that go in the wall for rakes, shovels, leave blowers, and weed eaters. These make for perfect storage and they are off the ground and out of the way.
• Larger Items
You might consider a small shed for items like the lawn mower, wheel barrow, lawn chairs, and other lawn furniture. These are usually bulky items that may not fit to well with the car.
• Tires
During the off season, you may have tires that do not go on your vehicles. These can be difficult to store. One option is to take a piece of plywood and put it on the 2×4’s in your ceiling and place the tires on the plywood. You will want to make sure the plywood is strong enough to hold the tires. Don’t stack them on top of each other because that can add weight that the plywood may not be able to hold.
Cleaning your garage and organizing it so you will know where everything is and have easy access to it will make your life so much easier. Plus you will be able to park your car in there and save yourself time. An organized garage is a wonderful garage and place you won’t be embarrassed about.
An Organized Kitchen makes for a Great Kitchen
Working in your kitchen is relaxing to some people while others stress and don’t like being in there. It’s possible the main reason is because their kitchen is not organized in a way that makes everything go smoothly.
Preparing a full meal can take concentration, time management, and organization. Now you may ask why it takes organization to prepare a meal. This article will show you why you need organization in the kitchen and how to get there with very little work.
When you prepare a meal you need to have your cupboards organized in a way that makes sense. You don’t want your plates and bowls above the range because they will be a struggle to reach. If you have the range on, you could easily burn yourself.
Organizing your cupboards is the first thing you need to do. Look at the way your kitchen is set up to decide where everything needs to go. If you have lived in your home for any length of time, you will need to remove everything from the cupboards which may be a challenge. You might be able to work with a few cupboards at a time and be able to switch things around. So decide how you can do this as easily as possible.
You want your glasses and cups close to the sink, so find that cupboard and put all of those in there. Make sure you put all the large glasses together, all the small glasses together, and all the coffee cups together.
Next you want all your spices close to the range, so find a cupboard that is next to the range and put those all together. Arrange them in a way that makes sense to you. This may be alphabetically or put the ones you use the most in the front.
The next cupboard you will want to tackle is the one for your pots and pans. Some people use the range drawer for these while others use them for cookies sheets and pie pans. This is up to you and what you prefer. If you choose to put your pots and pans in a cupboard, you should use the one right next to the range. It will give you the easiest access to these.
The next cupboard will be the one that contains your plates and bowls. This one is a little controversial because some people think they need to go by the sink while others feel they should go by the range. I’ve had it both ways and I feel it’s better to have them by the range. The reason for this is that you may need to grab a plate to get something off the range before it burns. If you have to take three to four steps to get your plate, you may burn what you are cooking.
Now, the cupboards above the range and above the refrigerator are used for miscellaneous items. You should put items you don’t use very often, in the cupboards above the refrigerator since it’s more difficult to reach those items. The cupboards above the range are for items you use more often but not every day because they may also be hard to access.
An organized kitchen makes it easier to be in when it comes to cooking. With these changes, you may find it difficult to find things for a while. But it will be worth it in the long run because it will make your cooking time easier and that’s what it’s all about.
