Clear Out Your Inbox: The First Step to Mastering Money and Managing Debt
“Clear out your Inbox” is a term for cleaning up the business-type clutter around your house. You know this clutter and how fast it accumulates: letters, bills, coupons, receipts, kids’ art projects. Mine ranges from my car to my entry table, to my desk, to my kitchen. An “Inbox” is any place that collects items that require attention. When these piles build up in enough places, you can bet overwhelm is just around the corner.
The Key Idea Clearing your physical space clears your mental space, and puts you in control of your life’s flow, cash flow included. When you sort, organize and prioritize your to-dos on a regular basis, you free up your attention span to tend to the family, relax on your own, and recognize new possibilities in your financial future. In addition, seeing your financial to-do’s organized into action items will give you a consistent handle on your resources.
Ready, Set, Organize
1. Find an attractive file box, basket or “Inbox” of your choice.
2. Purchase a set of letter-size hanging files and file folders.
3. Label each of the files in this way: “Action-Now”; “Action-Future”; “Bills to Pay”; and, “To File.”
4. Throughout the week, put ALL incoming items for consideration into in the “Inbox.” Get addicted to transferring the de-facto spaces that collect these things, like the kitchen counter or dining room table, to the real “Inbox.”
5. At the end of the week set aside one to two uninterrupted hours to sort the “Inbox” into your action files.
My kids’ naptime has worked well for me. Put each of the items from the “Inbox” into one of the four files. Items in the “Action-Now” file could include items such as credit card bills from companies you want to call to reduce your interest rate. The “Action-Future” file should include items that do not need to be addressed this week and may include renewal of a life insurance policy that doesn’t come due for a couple months. “Bills to Pay” should include bills that need to be paid this week. “To File” items may include receipts of paid bills, copies of insurance policies just received, etc.
The goal is to touch each item only one time on its way to an action file. If you do not put “Inbox” contents directly into a clearly labeled action area, you will end up spinning your wheels and making piles for hours.
Financial Well Being Tending to our financial well being is as important as taking the time to tend to our physical well being. Spend some time this week taking care of your financial well being by organizing items into your new, labeled files and clearing out unnecessary items from your physical space. Let me know your results. How does it feel? Email me at erin@greensherpa.com.
For more tips to mastering your personal finances and managing your life’s flow, click on my other articles on this site, or find me at GreenSherpa.com.
(Resources for Inboxes: The Container Store, SeeJaneWork.com, Office Max, thrift stores)
