Week 11 – Well, it’s tax time again and that shoe box full of receipts is bursting at the seams! In a world where loose debit and credit card receipts are more abundant than bound duplicate checks, it can be difficult to keep them organized and entered into the ledger. Start by gathering up all your loose receipts and sort them into piles:
Check card/ATM receipts that need to be recorded in register
Credit card receipts
Receipts already recorded
Tax deductible receipts
Work related/reimbursable and rebate receipts
Gift receipts
Receipts for major purchases (e.g. , appliances, furniture, electronics)
Record all your checkbook/debit card/ATM receipts in your checkbook ledger. Start a new habit this week! Clean out your wallet or purse every week. Gathering your receipts and reconciling your checkbook should only take 15 minutes a week! Also keep a zippered pouch in your purse or car to hold all your receipts. Pouch should be smaller than a checkbook but big enough that receipts will fit with not more than one fold.
Take the remaining receipts and place them in a small accordion file to keep them easy to find and organized. Label each tab by category like major purchases, credit card, tax deductible, gifts, returnable items, work-related expenses. Put your tax deductible receipts in a tax file for the current year. File your work-related receipts until you can take them to work for a report or until you need them for tax purposes. Put rebate receipts in your calendar so you file the rebate before it expires. Place any gift receipts with the gift you are giving. If the gift receipt is from one you received and want to return, place the receipt with item and put the return on your to do list. Don’t put this off; many stores have a time limit for returns. Every 3-6 months toss all gift receipts. After you have done all this, if you don’t need the receipts to set up or maintain a budget you can toss any you don’t need to save.
Every year purge your everyday receipt files from previous tax year. Move them to long term storage or shred them. Purge monthly bank & credit card statements (after you have matched them up to your year-end summary), monthly or quarterly stock brokerage and mutual fund statement, monthly mortgage statements, phone & utility bills (if not used for business) and paycheck stubs (after you have reconciled them with W-2s and 1099.
Now you will be able to find that receipt for a return and never miss a debit charge in your checking account because of a lost receipt. Tune in next week for our next best organization tip!
