I admit I’m guilty of throwing mail on a pile and discovering too late that I missed something important. To help stop this, we developed a process that has greatly simplified our mail management and total time required. It is based on the OHIO principle: Only Handle It Once used by successful business executives. (thanks Dusty Rhoades)
- Use auto-pay by credit card for any bills that accept credit cards. Use a rewards card to get cash back or points. ONLY do this if you are 100% sure you can pay off your credit card IN FULL every month. My favorite is the Costco American Express. This will convert multiple bills into just one each month.
- Setup online bill pay through your credit union or bank. It is actually safer than mailing in a check. You should be able to setup paperless statements directly to online bill pay reducing mail, simplifying payments and reducing more mail.
- Turn on paperless statements for any bill using auto-pay or any status mailings (like retirement accounts).
- When mail arrives, process as many pieces immediately.
- Have a wide Sharpie ready and black out your name and address for anything you are recycling or throwing away.
- Recycle everything you don’t need including the 40th version of coupons you will never redeem.
- Setup a small filing box with annual folders for any categories of mail you need to save. Sort items directly into their folders. Suggested folders: banking and credit, receipts, work and retirement, health and insurance.
- Stack magazines where you will read them.
- Pay any remaining bills or address any mail that requires an action.
- For anything that has to wait, have a priority mail basket to hold the items. Every week go through the basket to process anything that remains.
I hope this works for you.
