It's not just mail. But let's dal with that first.
We check the mail as it comes in. Everyone knows to put the mail in one central place. Someone (me, husband or one of the kids) sorts the mail and puts it on the bed of the relevant person. If it's me sorting mail for the kids, I take an educated guess on what the mail is, and/or ask the kid what it was and how they intend to deal with it. Because we've walked them through so much of this, they are fairly good at dealing with it themselves, or immediately asking for help.
Bills - they go into a drawer, along with other papers requiring fairly prompt attention. Prescriptions, paid accounts etc.
We also have a filing cabinet - three drawers. We keep ALL papers in there. The house plans, the deeds, the paperwork involving building our house - it's all there. Files on the kids' testing, school results, letters from doctors - all in the filing cabinet. We have complete files kept on various Government departments - our Centrelink is a combined unemployment, sickness benefits, parental allowance, health care card, etc authority. ALL our Centrelink letters go into one manila folder. There is a file number on these which is handy for whenever I have to ring them up, so I grab the folder when I call and put it back when I'm done (often with notes on the call scrawled in, or a reference to a test file I have on the computer, if it's an ongoing issue).
We use the computer. A lot. I keep diary notes on the computer. If there is a particular issue I'm tracking, I keep a text file on the topic. I date each entry and minute each phone call, often typing while I'm still in the call. That way I can actually say, "Would you mind repeating that slowly? I want to be sure I'm quoting you correctly." I then sometimes even read it back to them and if they verify it, I make a note indicating this. Once someone has been through this with me, they will not at a later stage deny having said something.
We also use the computer to scan documents. Although we had hard copy, we tend to print a scanned document to avoid the hassle of finding a working photocopier. (the humidity is so high here that photocopiers often print very dark, almost illegible, unless you also have a special drying drawer for the paper). We have a list of local JPs to certify that it is a genuine copy.
Bills falling due, appointments to be kept, prescriptions due to be dispensed, birthdays, we put them in a diary and also on a computer diary. We're not so good with the computer diary, it's not as comprehensive with appointments. It's great for recurring intervals, though.
We also keep our credit straight by using a computer record. Anything we put on credit, we log onto a spreadsheet. We have a different spreadsheet for each credit card/bank account. I collect credit card receipts in my wallet and regularly get them out to give them to husband to log. I can also log them myself but I often don't get around to it. He has a duplicate file on his laptop which he regularly backs up.
As we log a receipt, we tick it off. All ticked receipts get thrown away. If we needed to, we could get duplicates from the bank. husband also has the spreadsheets calculating how close we are to our credit limit. If we get too close but still need to use credit, he goes online to transfer money onto the card. Payments are also logged on the spreadsheet.
When the credit card bill or bank statement comes in, we check it against our computer record. We change the colour of the line if it has been successfully cross-checked. This really doesn't take very long and is really worth it. A few times we might see a credit charge for something we simply could not have bought; we then notify the bank and let them loose to find who's using our credit fraudulently. It's amazing how many people simply pay their bill without checking it.
We are a family with a lot of medical bills. We have one credit card dedicated only for health-related expenses. This makes it a lot easier for insurance and tax purposes. We still make mistakes sometimes and use the wrong card, but our spreadsheet system always picks it up.
When we incur a medical expense, we generally pay it in full at the time of service, on the credit card. I keep the doctor's receipt in my zip-up diary. husband puts them in the drawer. Prescriptions go into my diary. When I get prescriptions filled, I go to the same, local, pharmacist. It supports the local business (which I rely on). I leave all repeat prescriptions with him. I don't have to, but it makes things a lot easier. if I'm at the shops and remember I need more of this or that, I can just drop in and collect it. He prints on the label how many repeats are left.
The pharmacist also has a telephone outlet for people to claim on their public health insurance. It's called Medicare. Because I keep the doctor receipts in my zip-up diary, and husband takes his out of the drawer and gives them to me, then while I am waiting for the pharmacist to make up our prescriptions, I sit and make my claims over the telephone. I've been talking the kids through this too, as they need to know how to do this. It's thoroughly idiot-proofed. One telephone receiver, no dial, just a single button. Push the button and you're connected to an operator who explains absolutely everything.
To make a claim paid to our bank account, I need our bank details (account number, bank number) and the Medicare number. It's all written on a Post-It note inside my diary. I make the call, write in the details I need to, put it all in an envelope and put it in the Medicare mailbox underneath the phone. My pharmacist also gets a small fee for doing this, so it is another way to support him.
Once the money is back in our bank account, husband transfers it to our medical only credit card, plus the extra needed to keep that card in the black.
All medical expenses are logged onto another spreadsheet. At tax time, it's easy to do the final sum and work out how much tax we can claim.
If we're late paying a credit bill, we ask for the exact amount owing first. We try to pay our credit cards out in full each time. Because of this, we have mostly fee-free high interest cards. That means a late payment will incur a hefty interest charge. mother in law recently got herself flustered - she paid a small bill, late. Her next bill - she had made no more purchases but she got a bill for $1.20. She paid the $1.20 - late again. But she insisted she went up to the account office and paid it there. Unfortunately, she didn't ask them what the current balance was. She got a bill for 23c. By now she was getting cranky and was muttering about cutting up that credit card. "I'm never using that card again - I won't do business with them!"
Her next bill fell due last week. As she is away, we paid it for her. late, unfortunately. I asked how much was due - "$32.75."
"What?"
They showed me the computer. She'd been shopping with that card, which meant that interest was being charged for the entire amount, even though $30 of it was still a current purchase and she hadn't even gotten the account for that.
Knowing how your credit cards work, and how to make them work for you, is important organisation. If you're the sort of person who would prefer to make only minimum payment and carry the balance forward to a more wealthy time, then you need a low-interest card, even though they usually have annual fees. Some of our nasty cards (like the one mother in law was using) charge up to 25%, calculated monthly. And if you have credit owning, it's calculated daily.
From all this you might think we're models of organisation in every other way - not so. Papers purely of interest rather than financial urgency tend to get filed according to the geological time scale. difficult child 3's room is unpassable, you can't find floor. easy child 2/difficult child 2 is no better. And they've spilled out into living areas. I'm waiting patiently until easy child 2/difficult child 2 and difficult child 1 move out permanently (within a few months, hopefully) so I can begin reclaiming territory. I grab what I can as I pass the rooms, throw it in the wash or the bin according to what is appropriate. We recycle a lot, we have a recycling bin (one supplied to each household) and cast-off clothing is either given away or put in the compost heap.
But the house still looks like the "after" shot of a robbery gone wrong.
There IS organisation, somewhere in there.
Marg
