It's The Little Things

Ok, it’s no secret that I really really have not enjoyed trying to keep track of my finances and bookkeeping. And even in writing this post, I’m trying to keep my language positive and not shout out negatives like, “I’m not good at keeping track or I hate writing down my expenses.”

But I am trying to simplify and create better systems to make my life easier and more productive. In thinking about the records my husband is encouraging me to get together and give to him so he can do our taxes, I realized I have been doing a few “little things” that are going to make this process easier, and, IT’S THE LITTLE THINGS” that can make all the difference whether we are talking about money or anything else in your business or life.

For example, upon the advice of my friend Do Kim, I’ve created an envelope for each month and at the end of the day, I clean our my purse and check my business bank account (credit card and checking) and either create a receipt or add a receipt I’ve already gotten and put it into the envelope. (I’m only talking about business items by the way.) On the first of each month, I download a hard copy of my bank statements and write notes about deposits or withdrawals if I don’t have that information already recorded somewhere. I even went so far as to write it down in my calendar (every month) to print out the statements on the first.

If you haven’t already set up automatic payments, do so! It will make your life much easier. And, if you can’t do that, schedule a set day each month to pay ALL of your bills at one time so you don’t forget.

These may just be “little things”, and I’m sure there are a lot more, but do what works for you and incorporate just a few little things into your life and you will see a whole lot of bigger things that may seem overwhelming now, get smaller and smaller.

xo, jan