How To Organize Your Finances and Life In 9 Quick & Easy Steps

January 1, 2021
369 Comments

Last Updated on April 23, 2021 by NandiNN

How to organize your money

If you are looking for ways to organize your finances so that you are in better control of your money, you have come to the right place.

We can all quietly agree that 2020 was a complete write-off for many people including me.

But I am looking forward to improving and organizing my finance in the new year.

The only way to improve your finances, or really anything in life, is to know where you stand right now.

This one was tough to come to terms with, but it needed to get done.

By taking the first steps to organize your finances is never easy.

Finding out how much you owe, what’s coming in, and examining your current situation is the best way to deal with financial crunches.

Trust us.

Even if you are already in the crunch, you still need to go through this process.

It will make organizing the rest of your finances so much easier.

Let’s be realistic for a second.

Organizing your financial life really requires you to examine your finances periodically and have a plan “b” in place for when things go wrong.

Because things do tend to go wrong.

After all, it’s not “if”; it’s when it goes wrong that you should really be concerned about.

When I found myself pregnant and out of a job almost 4 years ago, it was no fun for anyone involved.

I was scared and felt completely helpless.

I knew the first step was to get your finances organized.

No matter what kind of job or business you have, sometimes there will be times when that cash stops flowing as much as you would like and all of a sudden you find yourself in a bind.

But if you have plans in place, you can weather even the worst financial crisis and get back on your feet much faster.

I absolutely recommend organizing personal finances at least once a year and more if you are financially unstable.

Organizing your financial life will feel like a big relief in the long run!

If your goal is to become financially free and learn more about how to successfully make sense of your income, join our 30 Money Challenge where we will share actionable tips you can use to succeed with money.

Go ahead and sign up right here.

Let me say that taking the steps to organize your finances is no easy task.

It took me a couple of years to stop ignoring the mess I had created and to come to terms with how to fix everything. And if you can not do it alone, do not hesitate to ask for help.

I am here to tell you the road will be hard especially if you are not making good enough money to get out of any financial crunch you might be in.

But I am glad that you are taking that step.

Here is what I want us to focus on today:

How to organize your money easily
How to set financial goals
How to organize your finances for quick growth
And Financial Organizing Tools You Can Use

Before we get started on the steps to organize your finances, we did want you to follow us on Facebook for more awesome ideas on saving or making more money. You can also follow us on Instagram for more tips.

We also wanted to take the opportunity to let you know that we use Affiliate links on some of our blog posts. This means that we could make a commission if you click on an affiliate link and purchase something.

What is the best way to organize your finances?

As I already mentioned, ignoring your current financial situation will do you more harm than good.

That is why it’s important to get your finances organized as soon as you possibly can.

Having enough money to live day by day is essential to your independent success.

You do not want to rely on others, credit cards or loans to pay for simple bills or the things you need to survive.

Properly organizing your finances means you are fully aware of where all your money is going, and you are able to live a comfortable life.

But where do we start?

Easy Tips To Organize Your Finances

1. Determine Your Financial Goals

Instead of thinking out loud that, this is my year to become debt-free, determine, and create a financial plan instead.

It’s one thing to think it out, and it is another thing to put it into play.

I suggest writing down exactly what you want to achieve financially. When it’s on paper, you can actually work towards that goal and it becomes a reality.

One of my financial goals 4 years ago was to make $5000 a month from home with a blog.

By writing it down, creating a detailed plan of exactly how I was going to achieve that, and implementing it, made it all come to life.

It definitely started off with me only making $84 my very first month but I was definitely determined to grow fast.

I used this exact financial planner to make my dreams become a reality.

Before you start on your plan to organize your finances, I highly suggest you break down your financial goals into reachable goals that you can actually stick to.

It might be that you want to buy a house, a car, or get out of debt.

Whatever it is, let’s work on it.

Don’t forget to grab your financial planner!

2. Organize your Finances By Making A List of Your Bills

Collect all your bill statements to better understand what you are working with.

Organize your bills into categories that include mandatory living expenses, flexible expenses that allow creative budgeting like groceries, and wants.

Wants are things that may be desirables, such as getting your teeth cleaned every four months but can be put off yearly and still maintain health and things like buying the leanest meat cuts instead of the cheaper ones.

Make sure you include everything so that you have a clear picture of what you are working with.

And remember if things don’t make sense for you such as paying for Netflix every month, then cut it out.

3. Track Your Spending

The best way to organize your finances efficiently is by knowing exactly where your money is going each month.

Keeping a detailed record of everything financial is one of the best financial tips I can give you.

The goal here is not just to keep track of every dollar that flows in and out of your bank account, but to categorize every dollar of revenue and expenses.

That way you can quickly see what came in and was earned and what money was spent.

It’s no secret that I enjoy my coffees and I tend to splurge money on this almost daily.

But remember spending $4 today on coffee and $4 the next day can quickly add up.

I am not proud to say but my coffee habits cost me just a little under $3000.00 each year. I got this number by tracking my spending for 1 year.

This was a shocker, to be honest.

If you are not sure how much money you are spending on junk and unnecessary things, be sure to grab my FREE spending tracker today.

4. Analyze Your Last Three Bank Statements

We recommend looking at your last 3 months’ bank statement as it will give you a better idea of your overall financials.

The reason you need three months of statements is that it will give you a better average of your expenses.

You should be able to easily add up how much you are spending in various categories, from eating out to personal healthcare to entertainment.

So sign into your bank account and ideal print out your statements.

Your bank statements will help you find places you’re losing money due to all your mindless purchases. And I know you spend money carelessly.

For example, if you grab a candy bar or a cup of coffee as I always do every time I fill up my gas tank, that is money that is leaving your account.

It might not seem like much right now, but during a financial crunch, it can make all the difference in the world.

Be sure to highlight all your spending.

Decide if the items you are spending more on are totally necessary or not.

This step will also ensure that you track your expenses much easier.

Don’t forget to grab my FREE spending tracker right here.

5. What exactly is your income?

Do you know exactly how much you make? And is this number enough to cover all your needs and expenses?

When budgeting or analyzing your income only count the money you actually earn.

Don’t bother accounting for your income before tax.

You want to know exactly what your income is after taxes have been deducted.

After all, this is what you really have available to spend.

You have to pay taxes just like you pay for rent or the mortgage.

Organizing your finances requires you to look at the whole picture. By doing it this way, you will truly understand what you are working with and you can make better-informed decisions.

Get it all together so that you know exactly where you stand.

And if you are not making enough money after looking at the whole picture, find ways to increase your income.

You can decide to do a few things to make extra money such as:

Ask for a raise
Find a part-time job
Start a Side Business
Start investing

All of these will help you make more money.

6. Organize your finances into a workable budget

Taking the steps to learn how to organize money is a huge step.

But now that you a list of your spending, expenses, and an idea of how much money you make, it is time for you to create a budget that balances it all out.

The best way to organize your finances is to organize them into a working budget.

You can use budget planners for beginners like these ones to help you better define your budget or free monthly budget templates like these so you can budget your money right away.

Either way, you need to create a budget that works for you.

Your budget will never be set and stone, you are more than welcome to tweak and revisit it several times as your situation changes.

A great budget will help you reevaluate your spending habits and even help you save money in the long run.

The best way to organize finances is to consistently stick to your monthly budget.

7. Don’t miss a bill payment

Now that you know how to organize finances and bills, make sure you are never late on a bill ever again.

Did you know that over 30% of people are always late in paying bills?

This is often because they are disorganized and are unsure about what is in their account or what is coming out of their account.

If you are late on bills, you end up paying late fees which are completely unnecessary if you ask me.

This is money simply wasted by you.

Make a conscious effort to pay your bills as soon as you get them each month.

You can also set up direct debits to pay bills on time and this can take the stress away from you.

It doesn’t take long to set these up.

And if you keep on top of your money by checking your bank statement each month you will know the right amounts being taken each time.

You will also be able to easily see how much you need to live your life.

If you need additional help with organizing personal finances, grab my organized life planner.

My Organized Life Planner has a cute bill payment tracker you can use to stay organized.

8. Don’t forget your emergency fund

Let me just say this, emergencies do happen.

Do not wait for bad situations to happen like losing a job or a medical emergency to start planning an emergency fund.

Having money set aside for crazy emergencies is the best thing you can do to stop yourself from using credit cards or loans to pay yourself out of it.

Trust me, using your credit is not a backup.

If you are not sure where to start with this, I suggest grabbing this Family Emergency Binder!

Whether it’s paying the bills, filing insurance claims, dropping your kids off at sports, setting up play dates, or managing your investments, there are so many things we do in life.

But what if something happened to you, who would deal with everything?

That is why I set up my Family Emergency Binder!

And it is a lifesaver.

I also recommend having about 3-6 months of expenses in an emergency fund, and even just $1000 to start.

9. Get The Organized Life Plan

Last but not least, you need to grab my Organized Life Planner today.

Organizing your financial life will take a lot more than just paying your bills on time.

You will need to adjust your lifestyle to live within your means.

The organize your life productivity planner is designed to keep track of the MOST important things in your life and make sure you’re staying fully organized day in and day out.

Organize your whole life with this beautiful collection of 40 printable planner pages that include budgeting sheets, meal planners, habit trackers, weekly and monthly planners, as well as expense trackers, and a ton more.

This planner will help YOU focus on the things that will make you feel good so you can live a more joyful and meaningful life.

It is the perfect planner to help you organize your finances this year.

Grab the Organized Life Planner here.

We hope our tips will help you organize your finances better this year.

Learning how to organize finances is no easy task, but I am so glad that you took the necessary steps to get started.

For more finance tips please sign up for our 30 days to more money challenge right here.

Read next:

Get your finances organized! Learn how to organize your finances for better financial health. I share with you the step-by-step process to manage your money better and get organized financially. #budgeting #debtfree #moneymanagement If you enjoyed our blog we would like to have you join our email list and receive weekly money-making tips, you can join now! Don’t forget to join our Private Facebook page. The page is created to share your work, pitch your services, and learn from other experienced bloggers!

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