Being Organized Saves Money
When I think about what my finances looked like a year ago, they were completely out of control! I had no budget, no real savings plan and chose to pay the minimum on my credit cards each month.
Once I decided to get organized and serious about my finances, everything changed for the better.
It is amazing to me how by simply being organized saves me money each month! I have so much more control of my life and my stress level has really decreased.
I am no longer oblivious to how much money is in my bank account and pay all my bills on time each month.
I have managed to pay off all my credit cards and now put money away in savings and retirement funds each month.
When it comes to work, I’ve also been able to focus and organize my blog. As my goal is to have a profitable blog, I’ve been organizing all my workbooks, guides and training.
I recommend grabbing all these free guides and workbooks to help grow your blog:
- Goal Setting Workbook
- 120+ Awesome Blog Post Ideas Cheat Sheet
- Blog Template Layout Worksheets
- 7 Ways to Boost Your Blog Income Overnight
- 10 Steps to Take When A Blog Post Goes Viral
- The New Blogger’s Guide to Guest Posting Guide
You can save all the workbooks online or print them out and put them in a binder!
How being organized saves money
Track expenses and bills
Ever since I created a budget, my life has gotten so much easier!
I have control of my finances and know exactly where I stand financially.
I no longer have mindless shopping spells and overspend at the grocery store.
I know when all my bills are due and have stopped wasting money on late fees.
My closet is clean
Keeping my closet clean can be such a challenge!
I don’t know why, but I constantly have to remind myself to keep it organized.
For example, I know I have too many clothes and probably only wear about 20% of what I own.
In the past few months, I have slowly committed to getting rid of clothes I don’t wear. I have been trying to fill up 1 bag at a time. And the clothes that I keep will go in special bins during the offseason, so my closet isn’t constantly stuffed.
I start with eBay, and if the items don’t sell, I drop them off at Goodwill.
While I am not making a ton of money putting my clothes, shoes, and accessories on eBay, it’s still money! Right now I’m just keeping the funds in my PayPal account until I decide what to do with it.
Planning a vacation far enough in advance
The earlier I start planning my vacation, the more time I have to shop around for deals and savings!
I like to sign up and get email alerts when airfare drops.
I do a ton of comparison shopping, read online reviews and compare sites like Rakuten to make sure I am getting the best price possible with the option of getting cash back!
Keep a revolving grocery list and home goods list
I keep a grocery list and home goods list in the kitchen drawer where I write down an item that needs to be replaced.
I even created a meal planner and grocery list printable I keep on my fridge- you can download it for FREE here!
Whether I go to the grocery store or shop on Amazon Prime
I used to go to the grocery store almost daily after work.
I would only go in to grab one or two items, but would always walk out with more than I planned.
Now I carefully plan my trip to the grocery store once a week.
Keeping a revolving grocery list has helped me save a lot of money!
I also use Ibotta, which is another free cell phone app.
You use it after you go grocery shopping and use your receipt. I
t’s basically a rebate app, so you can earn anywhere from 50 cents to $5 off everything you buy.
My favorite part about this app is that it’s not always brand specific, like a lot of coupons are.
So you’ll be able to scan “any brand of bread” for 50 cents off, etc.
If you do coupon – you can STILL use Ibotta and get a rebate. For the diehard couponers out there, this will often result in getting an item for FREE. Crazy, right?
If you want to grab the Ibotta app and start making money off your grocery receipts, click here to get started. You will receive a cash bonus of $10 when you scan your first item!
Use 1 email account solely for coupons, deals, etc.
I have one email account that is used exclusively for signing up for coupons, Groupon deals, and other savings programs.
By having this email account, I only have to log on when I need something and it isn’t bogging down my general email feed.
Plan for the unexpected
While I am still working on feeling more comfortable with this category, contributing to my emergency fund has decreased my stress level!
With my car turning 11 this year, I really want to create a larger fund for car maintenance and expenses.
When it comes time to buy a new (or used) car in a couple of years, I want to be financially prepared.
This goes for other life emergencies – unexpected vet bills, medical bills, etc. By planning now, I expect to be prepared when an emergency happens!
Want to plan and have sinking funds online? Check out Qapital.
Related reading:
- 7 Ways to Save $500 Right Now
- 17 Painless Ways to Save Over $300 in 30 Days
- How to Track Your Expenses
- Tips for a No Spend Day or Week or Month
- How to Save Money on Groceries Without Coupons
- No Spend Day Tracker
These are great tips. I have found that the more organized I got in my finances that spread out to other areas of my life. Over time I have slowly begun to get rid of junk and bring less unnecessary stuff into the house.
It feels so great to get rid of junk and the clutter!
Great ideas! I hate clutter so I’m fairly organized. One thing that helps me during tax season is that I have a tax receipt folder for the current tax year, every time I get a receipt that is tax related it goes in the folder so I have it to prepare my taxes.
I have recently started doing this with my medical bills! Every bill goes in a manilla envelope! Good idea with a folder for taxes!
Ah…I’m a naturally organized person and honestly sometimes go insane thinking about everything I have that is NOT organized. A lot of it comes down to time. Ever since starting Young Adult Money two and a half years ago I’ve had to pick and choose what gets organized and what I let slide. So far that’s meant electronic files as well as some areas of my home (like my closet, desk, etc.). I agree that it definitely can save you money, but even more so there is the non-monetary value in feeling good about having everything organized.
I have got to start uploading all my papers electronically. I can’t handle the clutter or waste of space, but struggle to find the time to sit down and do everything. When I start to think about what I need to get done, I get really stressed! I agree on the non-monetary aspect – it feels amazing to be organized!
Organizing and decluttering I’ve found can also send you a lot of reminders of stuff you once wasted money on, like clothes you never wear, beauty products you never used, food that went to waste or projects that never got finished! Besides being therapeutic, it’s motivational to not fall into that trap of buying what you don’t need or multiples of something you have as often.
Yes! I look at my closet and see how much money I have wasted on dumb stuff! I agree, it feels so good to let go of things!
I love all your strategies for being organized and I totally agree with you about having the freedom to plan for the unexpected also decreases stress. When something comes up, it becomes an inconvenience rather than a huge stressor.
What tips do you have on selling clothes on Ebay?
I have been selling on Ebay for years! It is amazing what people will buy. I will have to do a post on it!
Please do! I would be interested in seeing how you price things, your strategies, and what kind of things you have been able to sell plus any other tips you can give.
Keeping organized keeps you from buying the same products over and over. When time is of the essence and you can’t find an item, you’ll have to buy it again.
My issues with organization are why we have three screwdrivers. Learn from my mistakes!
Ha! I have a few screwdrivers too and have no idea why! 1 is enough!
I do think that organizing saves money. I’m especially bad with the bathroom closet. I’ll go buy a shampoo because I think I ran out and realize I already had one in there. My life ebbs and flows as far as organization. Sometimes I’m super organized and on top of things, but then sometimes life just gets really busy and stuff like paperwork starts piling up again. I forgive myself for being human. 🙂
Ha, I do that with shower gel! I practically have a small retail shop in my bathroom closet!
Great tips for getting organized! I agree, budgeting have helped me save quit a bit and people should never underestimate the benefits of creating a solid realistic budget. While my finances have been getting organized I have a lot of work to do around my home. I need to through out old papers and file important ones, go through my email and keep planning ahead.
I have been tackling organizing my home too – especially when it comes to paperwork! I am tired of having files and folders around the house and want everything to be online if possible!