b4f37ff0-3168-41c3-929d-d0f68c53e967

Creative ways to save money and score bargains are plentiful. But before you download your next price comparison, consider this: You can save money just by getting organized.

Disorganization is an insidious drain on your bank account. When you plug it up, you can bolster your finances without needing to search for the next great deal.

First, I have a disclaimer. Organization is not my strong suit. So there are a few things I know first hand.

I know if you neglect to get organized, not only do your finances take a hit, your emotions do as well. Have you ever wasted time flailing around looking for that document that needs a signature, or the check that needs depositing, or the date a payment is due? (Not saying that I have, of course!) Being out of control costs you time and money. And talk about frustration!

Here are 3 key strategies to get you started:

e812b620-5fbd-4922-b73b-070e188656d0

I don’t have the perfect solution, but I do have some good money saving reasons to boost your motivation to organize. Here are 2 things that just happened to me (embarrassingly) which have amplified my pursuit of staying organized.

  • I had a year long promotional price with my internet carrier. I do what I encourage all my clients to do: When the promo ends, I make a call and do what I can to negotiate the lower price. It almost always works.

One caveat… you have to keep track of the expiration and call at the right time! Because I hadn’t made note of the date, I didn’t notice the expiration date and my internet bill doubled.

  • If that wasn’t annoying enough, I had a conference to attend and put the application in a pile. The cost was $200 more after the pre registration deadline. Guess who blew it?

In a week, I wasted $250. Pretty stupid for a money coach!

Here are a just a few more examples how you can lose money by being disorganized:

  • You can’t find an item you need, so you buy a new one. (The other one of course surfaces a day later.)
  • You waste gas by going out 4 times in the car for things you forgot.
  • You go out to eat for the third time in a week because you haphazardly bought stuff at the grocery store and don’t have anything to make for dinner.
  • Your paperwork isn’t in order at tax time and you miss the filing date and end up paying steep penalties.

All these little things can add up to lots of dollars lost.

Although I don’t have all the solutions for staying organized, this gave me a good start to an approachable filing system . And there’s the terrific book by Mary Kondo “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up that could prevent the maniacal looking for something you can’t find.

9e49e891-903e-4525-b833-a241dee23495

Let me know if you have any other good ideas. I’d love to hear them.

So before you start searching the internet for deals, try organizing a little more and save your sanity….. along with your money.