<p>I know... Christmas was a few weeks ago and I'm still picking pine needles out of the carpet!</p>
<p>It's the beginning of a new year! Many people are excited for the new year for many reasons, some people just want a new start, some make big resolutions that they will break by the end of the month, some plan lose weight, save more money, move up the ladder in their career...</p>
<p>ME...</p>
<p>I'm excited to <b>clean out my files!</b></p>
<p style="text-align: center;" mce_style="text-align: center;"><img class="aligncenter" src="http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/vv65/ANOTHERNEWSEASON/231524220_027b7431a1.jpg" mce_src="http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/vv65/ANOTHERNEWSEASON/231524220_027b7431a1.jpg" alt=""></p>
<p style="text-align: center;" mce_style="text-align: center;">Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/zkorb/" mce_href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/zkorb/" target="_blank">Zach K</a><br mce_bogus="1"></p>
<p style="text-align: center;" mce_style="text-align: center;">
</p><p>Yep, sad but true, I look forward to boxing up and filing away all of 2009's files! I love starting over.</p>
<p>Last year I tried a <a href="http://anothernewseason.com/?p=92" mce_href="http://anothernewseason.com/?p=92" target="_blank">new filing system</a>. I was very optimistic with the new idea, however it did not stick. I soon abandoned my new BIG idea and instead had NO system at all. It was not a good thing.</p>
<p>This year I'm going to find a system that works. I'm also hoping to cut back on the amount of paper that we hold on to. I'm by no means a minimalist but I can see how this approach would remove a lot of the stress that I have when dealing with paperwork.</p>
<p>As far as the other paperwork goes, I'm at a bit of a loss. I've been reading a lot of great blogs and trying to gather some ideas. Here's what I've been considering:</p>
<p><b>Less Paper:</b> Use my scanner and store most papers digitally.<br>
<b></b></p><p><b>Electronic Bill Pay:</b> We have some of our bills set up on Electronic bill pay through our bank and I'd really like to set up the rest of our regular bills through this system. It saves us time and a stamp!<br>
<b></b></p><p><b>Use Pear Budget:</b> I signed up with Pear Budget last year and used it for about a month, then I completely forgot about it! What a shame, Pear Budget is an excellent, simple and very inexpensive way to track your spending. I plan to use this weekly to keep better tabs on our budget.</p>
<p><b>File Monthly, not by category:</b> I've always filed my paperwork by category, electric bills, car payments, insurance... etc. The idea of filing paperwork by month sounds so much better! After paying each bill you just pop all of those bills in the same folder and you're done! Also, looking up a bill or paperwork would be so much easier, just look up the month that you need and it should be there.</p>
<p><b>These are just a few ideas, I'm always looking for more suggestions - How do you handle your household files?</b></p>