This blog was inspired by the longest day of the year (June 21st). While we are so used to being “crazy busy” and making the most of every minute, sometimes we have the leisure to do the opposite — to take our sweet time. But if you still can’t shake the desire to be productive, why not tackle a longer, …
A few years ago, I was asked to speak about decluttering and organizing. As my audience took their seats, I offered a basket of letter openers bearing my company name, and invited them to help themselves. Then I began my talk. I mentioned the trap of freebies, suggesting that “a freebie isn’t really free.” Once we take them home, they …
It was a typical assignment for me as a financial organizer—help a senior couple simplify their paperwork and household finances. The husband had recently been diagnosed with dementia. Now that she had to handle all of the work herself, the wife wanted to streamline the bill paying and more. The discussion over his stopping driving had already taken place before …
Now that we have survived another Northeast winter, many of my senior clients are wondering, “Should I stay or should I move?” They often ask me for my input as their trusted advisor (daily money manager/ financial organizer). Here are some ideas I share with people going through this decision-making process. If you are a senior contemplating whether or not …
I’m often asked what I do as a financial organizer / daily money manager. (Understand, first, that I am not a financial planner or advisor; I don’t work with your investments.) So what should you or a family member of yours expect from working with me? What is my role? Why does someone contact me for help? In short: to …
I grew up in a home full of books. My parents — avid collectors — took us to book fairs the way other kids are taken to the zoo. But my real education in the book world occurred when my mother moved into assisted living and eventually passed away, leaving thousands of books behind. I was left to figure out …
Late payment notices, overdraft fees, missed deadlines, confusing medical bills–you don’t have to be a senior to encounter these unwelcome surprises in your mailbox. While keeping up with paperwork is something people of all ages must do, it can be especially overwhelming for seniors and the disabled. A trusted family member or friend can help, but people often do not …
In my 10 years of financial organizing / daily money management, I have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to people’s attempts at paper-organizing. Here are the top paper-organizing challenges that have tripped up my clients, and the solutions I have shared with them and helped them implement: No “landing strip” for your mail. One …
After sorting, shredding and filing with my financial organizing / daily money management clients, a few irreplaceable items often emerge that need special handling. The solution: A fire-resistant, waterproof locked box at home or . . . a bank safe deposit box. Is there a safe deposit box already in place? Sometimes a client already has a bank safe deposit …
Here’s my best unclaimed funds experience as a financial organizer. It was not an unusual first visit with a client who had contacted me to help manage her paperwork. What was unusual was the very first envelope I picked up from the pile of unopened mail. Inside was a letter from a bank saying that if they didn’t hear from …