managing mail | Imamother

cheerios

Sat, Dec 30 2006, 11:54 pm

Oh, those piles of mail! They drive me nuts! Bills - I generally take care of right away, but other stuff like bank statements, tzedaka letters, etc. just stay in the pile until I get to them... Do you have a system for getting rid of the mess? How often do you tackle the pile? daily? weekly?

Also, I used to reconcile my bank statements every month, but I got lazy, and stopped. Was that a very bad decision I made? Does everyone here reconcile or not?

dr pepper

Sun, Dec 31 2006, 12:02 am

I'm terrible with the mail. I get to it maybe once a month.

Bank statements- I don't look at them because I monitor our bank activity online daily and if there are and discrepancies I see them right away. I also switched to online statements only which helped with the mail pile.

MyKidsRQte

Sun, Dec 31 2006, 12:14 am

mail?????

I wish I never heard of that Crying

I cant keep up with it.

About reconciling, it only makes managing your bank account easier, and making sure that everything is correct.

happymom

Sun, Dec 31 2006, 12:18 am

as soon as it comes in I go trhough it. if its for my husband I make his pile. at night I make sure to ask him where all the papers go and if they are bills he takes care of them asap. that way, it never piles up. I hate piles and they would really bother me!

mumoo

Sun, Dec 31 2006, 1:10 am

Not only didn't we reconcile for over a year, we didn't even keep a running total-talk about emunah. I don't recommend that though, b"H we didn't overdraw. We opened a new expenses account for me (dh will do fixed bills from his account, I will do groceries, clothes, etc from the new one) that we are starting with a known balance that I will keep track of.

Marion

Sun, Dec 31 2006, 1:38 am

I do the bills right away, the bank statement (because I can't log on online, and I've given up trying) the day they come. The rest (filing) usually every other week (Friday mornings when DS has mishpachton).

greenfire

Sun, Dec 31 2006, 12:44 pm

I hate mail - it makes a hugh mess for me. I also like to recycle paper so any stuff like that goes into a brown paper bag hanging around too. I got a little file cabinet - supposedly to make it neater but my kids still yell at the paper mess.

withhumor

Sun, Dec 31 2006, 3:48 pm

I opened a bank account exclusively for paying recurring charges. One paycheck per month gets deposited in there and all my bills are set up to be automatically deducted from that account. I used to do it in my regular account but then I was always frantic if my checks will bounce because of an overcharge from a utility or something. So now its separate and B”H it’s been a dream for over a year. Good bye papers.

chocolate moose

Sun, Dec 31 2006, 6:49 pm

On the other hand, I had money taken out of my account erroneously, and it's been a real bear to get replaced.

Cherios, what about going paperless? Many places will email you a statement.

mimsy7420

Sun, Dec 31 2006, 6:54 pm

It's easier to monitor your accounts online daily. You can monitor your chequing and mastercard and VISA transactions so you can you catch something fishy right away.

chocolate moose

Sun, Dec 31 2006, 7:24 pm

Only, but you have to check. LOts of people get lazy, even about their own money.

cheerios

Wed, Jan 03 2007, 1:08 am

I am a little nervous to go paperless. I mean, I shop online and all, but my bank accounts, and bills, I'm not so sure... Is it safe...?

chocolate moose

Wed, Jan 03 2007, 10:05 am

I'm with cheerios....but, youknow wh at? we realized that one account charges us to send a statement, so for that, we went paperless.