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Organize Your Finances by Decluttering
by Ronda Asta - rondaquilts@bellsouth.net

Description: Tips for organizing your finances.

I just finished reading a really good book by Suze Orman, called The Courage To Be Rich. It actually was much different than I thought it would be and I'd recommend it for those who are interested in practical ideas for creating more wealth with money you already make. It's not a get rich quick book. It also offers great information on different types of investing.

From an organizing perspective it had a great couple of pages about organizing your finances and making room for more money in your life. She talks about a lot of the things I teach on so I decided to share these thoughts with you this month.

"Clutter in our lives leads to more clutter-the clutter of stuff in closets, cupboards, basements, and attics" She mentioned an industry that's making it big because of our desire to have more and more stuff....... rented storage units at $70.00 per month or more. Think how much we're spending just to store stuff we rarely even see or probably use. This is a loss of money, lots of it over a long period of time. In reality, we'll probably not use 80% of what we own ever again. You've heard of the 80/20 rule, I'm sure. 80% in our closets we don't wear, 80% of the paper in our files we never refer to again, etc. etc. This all costs us money in time (searching for and through stuff to find what we're really are looking for) and space (storage space).

Suze says it's a profound fear of loss, which prevents us from gain. "We keep so much stuff around us because we fear that if all our material possessions were taken away, we'd be left with nothing - and who would we be if we had nothing?" I've said it before and Suze reemphasizes it that when we have so much around us, "we can't see what we have, notice what we value, or pinpoint what's missing". Thus we end up spending money on items we can't find. That's surely not a way to organize our finances.

When our papers are in a mess and our life cluttered "we create a swirl of financial chaos around us." We forget to pay bills, or end up paying late fees. Things aren't renewed that need to be and again late fees may apply. When we get down on paper our financial situation and can see where we stand we can eliminate this type of clutter in our lives and stop spending those wasted dollars.

Suze says "Money can't see it's way through clutter and chaos and confusion. It hates being spent on items stuffed into a cupboard or closet and never used." By getting rid of all the things we don't use or haven't used we make way for those things that we really can and will use in our lives. Spending money on things we don't need and won't use steals from our future. We're spending tomorrows money on today's stuff we really don't need. If we invest our money wisely instead of spending it so freely we're making a way for us to live easier in our later years.

I once saw a program where someone had bought so much stuff they had to sleep in a hotel because there wasn't even room in their apartment to sleep for all the "stuff". Can you imagine how much money was wasted in this situation. I'd surely like to think this type of thing is a rarity, but oh...... the stories I've heard. Next time you get ready to spend any money think about some of these thoughts and do it only If you know this is the best use of your money at this time. Especially with Christmas just around the corner (I know I can't believe it either) how much of what we buy will the other person even use. Who says you have to buy for all those you buy for. I'll stop here because this is a soapbox I can stand on for quite awhile.

Reprinted with permission.