A desk by the front door with a desk calendar are necessities for me. I open all mail immediately and log bill due dates on the calendar. Bills are then placed in an "accounts payable" folder with due date and creditor's phone number on the front of the envelope.
Most bills are paid over the phone. As a bill is paid, it is checked off the calendar and moved from the folder to a "paid" bin with date paid and confirmation number on the face of the envelope. At the end of the month, this stack is bundled with a rubber band and placed neatly by month order in a decorative basket for future reference.
I assign a pen color for each kind of notation on the calendar. Red ink notes bill and amount due. Appointments are in black ink. Birthdays are logged in with blue ink (18 grandchildren). A quick glance at the beginning of the week keeps me on target.
The desk calendar allows me to easily flip back to previous months for bill comparison or payment confirmation. By saving the previous year's calendar under the present one, year to year bills can be easily compared and birthdays can be transferred readily to the new calendar year.
By Marie from AL
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