incoming mail organization

[mek42]

My wife and I are trying to come up with an incoming mail system that works for us. Especially for tracking (and ultimately adding to the budget) irregular bills, such as that $11.63 patiant responsibility medical bill from 3 months ago that we somehow missed the first two mailings of.

What do you do for your incoming mail?

[Ceashels]

We are in a mail mess too. We used to have a basket at the door but when that was taken upstairs to the computer the "new" mail area became the entrance table, the dining table, the coffee table and on occasion the kitchen. I've though about divided baskets with a recycle bin close by but that hasn't happened yet.

[frugalfranny]

What do you do for your incoming mail?

I just use what I call my KISS method. I pull all the 'junk stuff/catalogs' right away and toss or put by my chair to look through.

I use two of those plastic 'slotted mail holders'.......one side holds the bills that need to be paid and unless I am paying bills they don't get moved from there until they are paid.

When I write the checks ---and put the date that they are DUE on the back of the envelope.......I then move them to the slotted holder on the right side of the desk.

If something needs to go out right away it goes at a spot by the door I use to leave the house.

If you pay online I would arrange something closer to the computer.

I have three bills that can't be paid on line so I don't do it.

[Libby]

I've made it so I get only one bill - credit card. Everything (necessary) is charged to the card and I pay it off weekly.

What I've done in the past is write the due date and amount on one corner and stacked them by due date with the closest at the top and paid accordingly when I had the money available. Some people jot it down on a calendar thats hung on the wall near where they pay bills so it visually reminds them. Whatever your method of choice is...just make sure they're always IN YOUR FACE so you don't forget to pay them ahead of the due date so the money clears in time and you don't get penalized.

Also, track your bills and average the amounts out after 3-4 months to help give you a good guesstimate on how to budget for these things going forward.

[McD]

I open all mail immediately. All junk mail is shredded or recycled as appropriate. I stack magazines/catalogs into a basket by the couch to be looked at. I put all bills in a binder that I keep all my household manual type stuff in. Anything to be filed is placed in the office.

[IntlMom]

I throw away/recycle practically everything before I even bring it in the house. I cannot stand junk mail - it doesn't even make it through the front door.
I have a basket with a divider. In the front the bill goes when it first comes, and then when I pay them, I move them to the back part of the basket. Every so often, I take the paid copies and staple them and put them in the "paid bills file" in the basement filing cabinet. Every few years, I convice dh to shred it all and we start the whole thing over again.

[nuisance26]

~Here's my system. DH brings in the mail and places it on the small bookshelf in our sunroom entry. The next time I pass that way and see the pile I sort it(small house so always within 24 hours).
The bookshelf is 9 inches deep and 3 feet tall. The only things on top of it are my coupon box, the financial binder, a blue file folder and my purse. Immediately to the left is a trash can.
Sales fliers I want to keep are put in the blue file folder. Last week's fliers are discarded into the trash can. Junk mail also is trashed.
Coupon booklets are placed in the coupon box.
Bills are opened, outer envelopes and useless inserts are discarded and the bill or other important paper is slipped into the front pocket of my financial binder. Store receipts also go there when we return from shopping trips. 2-3 times a month I sit down to record all the receipts and pay bills.
My financial binder is a 3 inch thick, 3 ring binder with clear vinyl pockets on the outer, and half pockets on the inside front and back flaps. If I think an item is very urgent I slip it in the front clear pocket of the binder so it nags me visually every time I pass by.
The first "page" of my binder is a zippered pencil case that I keep pencils, pens, a calculator, blank envelopes, the checkbook, stamps and address labels in. Then follow all my financial record keeping pages. In the back of the binder is a pocketed file. When I pay a bill or record a receipt the item(that was in the front pocket )it then goes into the back pocketed binder. This is emptied into my financial paper boxes every two months(4 boxes, four general categories, helps at the end of the year).
All the sorting, paying and filing ads up to 2-3 hours a month.~

[Greebo]

I um... I look at it when I bring it in, take whatever needs immediate handling upstairs, and dump the rest wherever...

*blush*

[monkeywrangler71]

Recycling bin is in the front closet, junk gets dumped on the way into the house. The Thursday paper, I pull out the clump of flyers out and put them on the table until I have time to read them - all other newspapers go directly in the recycling (this is a free community paper that I did not ask for and does not interest me).

Real mail gets opened immediately, envelopes, filler, and garbage goes right into the recycling. The few pertinent pieces of paper go into the basket on my desk.

On weekends I take an hour to myself and go through my basket, do any filing, bill paying, update our accounts, etc. Any papers related to taxes are put in a hanging folder that I keep on my desk. Anything else important is scanned and shredded. Anything not important is thrown out.

We only have one bill and one account statement that come in the mail, everything else is electronic. All bills are paid online. All documents are saved in a document management system, the backup is kept in my safety deposit box. The only paper I keep is the tax file - which I could go electronic, but it's just easier to throw it in the file and deal with it all in the spring.

[Contrary Housewife]

First, I spent a couple years getting off mailing lists. I never give out my name and address if I can help it. Always check off the box that says not to share your name with advertising partners. I don't do drawings or sign up for more information. Most of those are just grabs for addresses for junk mail. Also, you can go to one of the 3 credit reporting agencies and put in a "fraud alert" on your account, it does nothing to your credit rating, but it will stop the junk mail.

Now that I have less to sort through... junk mail goes into the recycle bin at the door. Everything else goes on the kitchen table in case DH wants to look at it.

Bills get moved to a stack at my check writing station. Other important papers (statements) get filed in a big accordion folder.

I sort bills by date due and every couple of weeks sit down and pay what is coming up.

[frugal is fun]

Once I moved all of my "due" dates got messed up. I kkeep track of all my regular bills and my due dates on a spreadsheet. I've gotten it down so I pay bill's once a month. Much easier to keep track of things.

BUT as far as the mail goes. I throw it on my desk in my kitchen. Every weekend when I get a few minutes I sort it, recycle the junk, shred what needs to be shredded. I take the bills, open them and write the due date and the amount on the outside of the envelope and then they all go into a folder. I pay all of my bills the first week of the month, it just works out this way.

I don't think you can ever truly budget for the $11 bill you received becasue you didn't know it was coming but you can budget an extra $20 a week/month for the "unexptected".

[Palooka]

Dh or the kids gets the mail and they always dump it on top of the dishwasher. I go through it ASAP because I can't stand paper clutter.

Either it's dumped or the bills goes right into the special bill drawer and it's done in 30 seconds flat.

[frugalwarrior2]

I do exactly the same as Mrs. McDowell. Also, If I go to the DR. in Mar. I put a line in the budget in May for it, just leave the cost blank until it comes in. I may not always pay the whole thing but I always pay something on it.

[Liane]

I open all of the mail when it comes because my DH if he gets a hold of it leaves a trail around the house and loses bills-lol. Once I open it I put the bill part that has to be sent back in the return envelope and put them in my DH's drawer. Recycle area is end table by the front door. Anything that I do not want is recycled. Ad's and magazines go in my room to read. I try to go through ads when I get them so I can prepare for sales. The other part of bills I save and would file if I had a filing cabinet-ugh. Whatever has our names on them, credit card offers... I cut our names out and recycle the rest. We had two shredders and they both broke even though we followed the directions. As for the unexpected if you can have a cushion that is there if you need it and only if you need it. If there is no immediate need it will be there for you when there is. Now if you can not have a cushion set up a payment plan or see if you can cut back in another area to cover it.

[ladykemma2]

come home, get mail, junk mail immediately discarded/shredded. magazines and catalogs to be looked at put aside. go potty, pay today's bills today, written envelopes on top of my purse to go into the mailbox next morning.