Sunday, August 29, 2010

A dollar a day (#7)

I keep all of my receipts. Usually in a shoebox. Or a basket. And I have a lot of receipts. I like to shop. I like to go out to eat. I get coffee. A lot.


Normally I just throw my receipts in my purse, then into a basket I keep in my bedroom. Where they sit, and grow, and look a little like a pile of snow (its been awhile since I've seen real snow). But, now I have something even better to hold my receipts:


Though I'm still not sure what I'm saving them for--a rainy day?! Sometimes I think I'm going to sit down and do all those little surveys on the bottom of the receipts. But, I never do.

Sometimes I think I'm going to get some kind of super-savings-return on my taxes because I've kept all my receipts. (Doubtful.)

But, if I'm honest, I eventually would like to track my spending categories a bit closer than my online banking system does. Because I secretly suspect that my spending habits regularly fall into three general categories:
  • coffee
  • cards (as in my BFF Hallmark)
  • Chipotle/Culvers
It's coincidence, I'm sure, that they all start with the letter "c"...

The accordion file I picked up for $2.99, on sale, at Office Max (I also picked up some extras for future years/projects), and I went through my basket o'receipts while watching TV one evening. Not bad for a nights' work. So I've marked #7 as partially complete (yea for more organizing!).

1 comment:

D.L. White said...

Good stuff. Keeping the paperwork organized is a neverending battle, especially with debit cards being the norm over cash. I think my paperwork breeds in the night - the piles grow so quickly.

Here's a couple of cool links.
Here is a quick and easy breakdown of how long to keep different documents.

I used to use Quicken to budget and track our spending, but our computer it was all stored on bit the dust and I didn't have it backed up... yeah, stupid. So now I'm investigating Mint.com