PocketCoinage

As I type this up, I’m looking at my messy desk and wondering when I will straighten things up.  Even thought I have been off for over a week now, I couldn’t stand to be sitting up in the office going through papers.  We had some wonderful weather the past couple of days and I wanted to take advantage of it.  I even had the opportunity to do something new: horseback riding!  This was something that I have never done before.  After this wonderful experience, I will be doing more of it.  I guess I will need to allocate more money towards experiences!

Getting back to my desk, just because it’s messy doesn’t mean that I am not organized.  I like to look at it as an “organized mess”.  I have my upcoming payment pile and my paid bills filed.  The rest of the mess is junk mail to be shredded, receipts, notes, and the box to my new cell phone.  One of the hardest things about personal finance is staying organized and keeping up with it.  There are many ways to get organized, stay organized, and even become proactive.

Making Time
I feel one of the biggest obstacles to getting organized is not making time to get organized.  We come home from work, very tired, and just start making little piles of junk that we plan on looking at a later date.  Well, we do, but then it feels like it takes hours to go through it all!  Well, that’s because it does.  I have months of buildup and it can take me quite a few hours to get through the mess.  I keep making excuses to not do things, “Well, the shredder will make too much noise and wake someone up.”

Try to take 10 – 15 minutes a day to tend your personal finance life.  Remember the old saying, “Rome wasn’t built in a day.”  It takes many, many, small steps to reach a goal.  Staring with the end in mind can help you build that solid foundation to take you where you want to go.

Organizing Yourself
After working some time in your schedule, decide how you’d like to organize yourself.  This will probably be the most difficult part.  Here are a few that I have tried:

• Stackable Paper Bins
• Three-Ring Binders
• Digitizing Paperwork
• Electronic Billing
• Electronic Payment
• Electronic Debit
• Filing Cabinets/Bins
• Google Calendar with Reminders

The single most useful tool that keeps me on my toes is Google Calendar.  I have it configured to alert me 10 days before a payment is due plus it syncs with my Android phone automatically!  This has been a lifesaver on many occasions, especially when the work days seem to blur together.

When bills come in, they get filed in the unpaid pile.  Once I pay them, they then get transferred to a three-ring binder.  This binder takes up little space on my bookshelf and works better than filing it in a cabinet.  I have about 2-3 years worth of statements stored here.  I phase out older statements by scanning them to my computer and saving them as PDF files.  This allows me to search the document for certain keywords in the event that I need to refer back to it.  This allowed me to move from three file bins to just one.  Just make sure you store backups of your paperwork in a save place.

Going Electronic
I’ve been paying my bills online.  From the mortgage to my local alarm company, ING Direct allows you to pay others from their website; even if the company doesn’t accept an electronic payment.  ING Direct will send out a real check to the company on your behalf and they do not charge you for postage (except if it’s mailed overnight).  You can even send your friends money directly to their bank account using the Person-2-Person payment feature.

Let’s not forget e-statements!  They are usually in PDF files that you can save to your computer.  This can save you time and energy by not having to scan in statements or file them away.

How do you stay organized with your busy lifestyle?

Remember, you can contribute to your Roth IRA for 2009 until April 15th!

I have yet to contribute anything for 2009.  Quite frankly, I’m upset that I did not put anything in at this point.  However, it’s been a big year for me: buying a house and paying off the car.

Over the past 2 years, I have contributed the maximum amount to the Roth IRA.  With the most recent economic crisis, that $10,000 turned into less than $5,000.  Within a few months time, I lost one year’s contribution.  I guess it could have been worse; I could have lost it all.  Since then, I traded in the Global Real Estate for Global Bonds and opened a Roth IRA Savings account with ING Direct.  Probably not the best choice to regain my money back.  The Global Bonds (IGBOX) are only up about 7% compared to 29% with Global Real Estate (IDGTX).

I think the recent events with the market and buying a house made me realize my true risk tolerance.  I do not like losing money – especially when I see what I put in and lost.  For some reason, I feel differently about my 403b.  I think it’s because it’s deducted bi-weekly and I don’t “see it” except on the quarterly statement.  I still have yet to compare all the statements to see what I have really lost.

However, it’s good to have a balance of funds.  I think I will keep my 403b on the aggressive side and make my Roth IRA fixed with savings, CDs, and bonds.  The market took a large hit in the past week and I do not think we are out of the water yet.  Remember, bonds are more attractive when the markets go south and are less attractive when the markets rise.

I should have a plan for my 2009 Roth IRA by the end of the month.