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 …
Clients expect me, as a financial organizer / daily money manager, to be all business, forging ahead with one goal in mind: to work with them and conquer their paperwork clutter. But my work as a financial organizer is more nuanced. After all, I am working with people, not just paper! The key to success in my close-to-10-years in business …
What to do with All That “Stuff” In my last blog, “Trash or Treasure?”, I told the story of a coin bank we found in my parents’ storage unit. Its true identity remains frustratingly elusive. But it didn’t have to be that way — if we had only known it had existed and had asked my dad about it before …
My parents moved across the country several times over the years, with second homes along the way. Each time they moved, they hauled not only the necessities, but also lots of “stuff,” which was … trash or treasure? One item left to us was a rusty and broken child’s bank in the shape of a bank building (see photo of …
A fellow professional organizer brought me in to locate a client’s important papers during a whole-house packing and moving project. The client had bolted across the country (that’s the only way to explain the dirty dishes left in the sink) for a lucrative new position. He was climbing the ladder in the financial industry at a speed that left him …
Daily Money Managers (and the important financial organizing work they do with clients) are in the news! In case you missed it, here’s a short roundup of what’s being said about DMMs with links to the complete articles. Last June, The Wall Street Journal quoted Personal Money ManagerSM in “When Aging Parents Need Help With Financial Tasks.” That article states: Daily …
My Amex card turns 40 this year. I got it when I was suddenly promoted from admin to manager and had clients to entertain and business travel to book. My Lord & Taylor and Bloomingdale’s credit cards were not going to do the job. I had gotten them to 1) start building a credit history, and 2) make me feel …
Remember when credit cards were for travel, not grocery shopping? Recall the days before debit cards? We are all using plastic more than ever—for both large and small purchases. And, so are scammers and fraudsters! About 31.8 million U.S. consumers had their credit cards breached in 2014. Last year, the number of U.S. data breaches tracked reached an all-time high …
Last time I shared some general ideas for organizing your desk: how to take a backhoe to the disaster area many call their paperwork “home.” Here, in Part 2, I want to dig down with ideas for the problem areas which might be getting in the way of being productive or denying you the satisfaction of having a clear workspace. …
If this is the year you are going to take control of your desk, I’m here to tell you it’s not too late. There is plenty of time to clear your desk and learn new habits to keep it that way. Here’s a plan to try: First, set up four or five bins. Buy cardboard sorting trays or use receptacles …