Here are 12 tips to get organised and take back control of your finances.

1. Declutter your wallet

Once a week clean out your wallet and handbag. Spend a few minutes sorting through receipts, paper and general rubbish. Store what you want to keep and ditch the rest. 

Carry a minimal amount in your wallet not too much cash…a minimum of $100 is enough for an emergency, but not too much if your wallet gets lost or stolen.

2. Cull the Credit Cards

Don’t carry too many credit cards. Most of us only need two – one primary credit card linked to our own money and a backup.

If you have additional cards make sure they are at home stored in a safe place.

3. Ground the Gift Cards

You wouldn’t leave a bunch of cash laying around the house so be sure to store your gift card in a safe place. 

Gift cards are like cash, unless you are going shopping with a specific purpose, they don’t need to be in your wallet so leave them at home… once they are lost or stolen they are gone for good.

4. Copy the Cards

It is a good idea to take photocopies of your Driver’s Licence, Medicare Card, ATM & Credit Cards and store them away ‘just in case’.

In the even that your wallet is lost or stolen you will still be able to prove who you are and re-order necessary replacements.

5. Carry your License

It’s the only ID you really need unless you are applying for a loan.

Any documents with sensitive info, like your Social Security, passport or birth certificates should be kept in a safe place at home, or secure in a bank safe.

If you don’t carry a wallet you can view your license on your mySAGOV app.

6. Store your receipts

If you don’t want a bunch of paperwork lying around around your home office but need to keep your receipts in order, check out the Shoeboxed app it’s a great app for storing receipts.

Shoeboxed is one of many receipt-scanning apps online.

7. Firm up finances

It’s important to check your purchases against your monthly credit card/bank statements to make sure that you are living within your budget and to ensure that there are no strange purchases that you haven’t made.

8. Shred it Sista!

Invest in a paper shredder from Officeworks.

Instead of throwing receipts or personal documents out in the recycle bin, spend some time once  week shredding all identifying paperwork, especially anything with personal information which includes bank details, credit card numbers, address and birthdate.

Don’t make it easy for your rubbish to be targeted by identity thieves.

9. Opt Out

Most pre-approved credit card offers aren’t a safety risk, but they can land you in hot water especially at this time of the year.

Opt out and shred the paperwork as soon as possible it’s a really easy way to get into financial ruin.

10. Tax Time

If you pay an accountant to lodge your yearly return its important to be organised at tax time.

It is a legal requirement to keep all relevant tax information together for five years from the date you lodged your tax return so keep it all together in a filing cabinet or  archive box clearly marked with the year. 

11. Go paperless.

Going paperless is a great idea for less clutter BUT it’s easy to miss electronic bills in an overcrowded inbox, so set up a separate email account for all your electronic bills….and you will never forget to pay a bill.

12. Set and forget.

In order to stick to your budget and live within your means it is important to spend 15 minutes once a month to schedule reminders on your phone or block out time in your diary to:

• review bank and credit card statements on a monthly basis.

• pay your bills as they are due

• work out a monthly budget for entertainment, food and general expenses

• revisit and update your annual budget twice a year 

Setting reminders are a great way to keep your brain from overloading and you won’t have to worry about missing something. It’s the perfect set and forget system.!

Fun Fact:

According to researchers, a study conducted in Edinburgh, where 240 wallets were left randomly on the streets to see how many would be returned to their owners.

The study found that 88% of the wallets containing a picture of a baby followed by those containing pictures of a puppy at 53% were returned to their rightful owners.

There are many ways more ways to gain financial freedom… no more excuses… practice these 12 fearless money management tips and reap the rewards!