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To Shred or Not To Shred, That is the
Question
When clients ask me about what documents
to keep and for how long,
I not only tell them what I do in my own
home office but also recommend they seek
expert advice from a CPA.
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Once it is determined what can be
discarded, the next challenge
is whether to trash, recycle
or shred.
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Anything with your address, social
security number and/or account
numbers should be shredded.
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Can you spell "identity theft?" It
takes far less time to shred
documents than it does to recover
your life after experiencing
something so invasive as having your
identity stolen.
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Understanding that shredding is the
most mundane task known to mankind,
I suggest that you do it in small
increments of time. For example, if
you watch television in the
evenings, put your shredder near
your favorite easy chair and
shred during the commercials. Do
not let the shredding pile up.
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Another question I often receive is
what type of shredder is needed.
For the home and home office, a
moderately priced shredder that
accepts six sheets of paper and also
has a slot for shredding credit
cards is adequate.
Businesses, depending upon amount of
paperflow, require more high tech
shredders.
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Ativa offers a great selection of
micro-cut and cross-cut shredders
for both residential and commercial
use.Additionally,
there are terrific shredding
companies who will come to the
home and office to shred onsite or
will take the documents to their
facilities for destruction. If
going that route, be sure to ask for
a certificate of destruction upon
completion!
Planning Thoughts and Preparing Written
Questions
for an Initial Consultation
with a Professional
Prior to interviewing a prospective
attorney, doctor, accountant or
investment advisor, draft a list of
bullet points. This could include (but
is not limited to) the following:
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Expertise of the professional,
including educational background,
professional qualifications,
licenses they hold and what type of
insurance they have
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Experience (how long the person has
been in their field and what other
related fields were they in prior to
their current profession)
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Continuing education (are they
keeping up with the latest updates
in their field by taking courses
and/or attending seminars?)
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What strategy and approach will they
use to assist you?
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Fees (Will they charge hourly? If a
medical professional, do they take
your insurance and if not, what are
the specific costs for
consultations? Does the
professional require you to pay the
bill in full or will they set up a
monthly payment plan? If an
attorney requires a retainer, will
he/she document their work against
it regularly and will they return
any unused portion of the retainer
when the work has been completed?
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Do they have any conflict of
interest with the accountants,
doctors, lawyers, guardians or
judges who may have previously been
involved in your ‘case?’ This is
critical to allow for a smooth
transition, so that all records will
be transferred expeditiously.
As the consumer, be prepared to ask anything else to
help you make the best decision on whether to enlist
the professional’s services. Organizing thoughts
thoroughly before a consultation shows the
professional that you are serious and as
knowledgeable as possible about your situation.
Additionally, a written plan enables you to hold a
more targeted and productive meeting. It’s always a
good idea to interview more than one professional in
a specific field. Itemizing your criteria in
advance helps to compare professionals to ultimately
determine which is more qualified and suited to your
needs and best able to help you succeed in reaching
your goals.
Maintaining and Recordkeeping of Expenses
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Using different credit cards and
checking accounts so business expenses
are maintained separately will save time
and headaches at tax time.
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If using the same credit card for all
expenses, highlight the business
expenses on the monthly bill and write
two separate checks (one for the
business total and one for the personal
portion.)
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Use Quickbooks or Quicken for easy
delineation of expense categories.
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No receipt is needed for business
expenses under $75, as long as you
document who and what the expenditure
was for and when and where you incurred
it.
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Contact your CPA or tax professional to
obtain advice on the format they prefer
for submission of your financial
information for income tax preparation.
Tips for Handling Postal Mail
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Commit to opening the mail daily, preferably
at the same time of day so it becomes
routine. Immediately trash junk mail.
Shred if appropriate.
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Discard (shred) envelopes immediately,
unless you need the return address of the
recipient, if you notice that it’s not
included in the contents.
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For items that need to be filed, either do
so immediately, or create a “To File” folder
and designate a weekly time to actively
file.
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For documents that need action, place them
in an appropriate area for the specific task
or project and be sure to calendar the
activity to remind yourself to handle it.
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All bills to pay should be kept together.
Once the bill is paid, write the date and
check number on it and file it. If you are
paying online, be sure you maintain an
electronic record. Unless you need them for
tax purposes, utility bills, personal bank
statements and personal credit card bills do
not need kept for more than a year. You can
always obtain the information from the bank,
utility and credit card company if you need
it. (Remember, “less is more” with regard
to this type of paper!)
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Invitations for events to attend should be
kept in a folder or container in date
order. Once you have attended the event,
throw away the invitation.
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If you receive items that you want to read,
like newsletters, but can’t take the time
upon opening them, create a file called “To
Read” and choose a time each week that you
will go through those items. If the folder
starts bulging, then review it and if you
realize you realistically aren’t going to
read everything, discard it. One option is
to cut out pertinent articles and throw away
the rest of the publication. Upon reading,
discard the item (unless you need it for
reference).
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Mail for your spouse should be kept together
in one designated area. It is preferable
that mail be sorted and acted on in a home
office environment or at the very least at a
desk. Regardless of the chosen spot, the
key is to handle it in the same place and on
a regular basis.
Eliminate the Clutter in 2009 and
Get a Tax
Deduction in the Process
Are you
looking for more tax deductions for 2009, as well as
wanting to get rid of stuff from your closets,
garage and storage units? Donate gently used items
to your favorite charity. Because the IRS requires
that all donations be substantiated with a receipt,
be sure to indicate the name of the charity, the
date and the dollar amount of the
donation (fair market value, not what you purchased
the item for originally.) To help determine the
value of donated goods, the easiest site I have
found to navigate is
www.salvationarmyusa.org.
Click on “Ways to Give”, then
“Donation Receipts- Valuation Guide.”
Under-Promise and Over-Deliver
How often have
you heard that famous saying? Are you actually
doing it? In the time management consulting I do, I
encourage clients to set deadlines for completion of
projects that are two days prior to those set by their
colleagues, bosses and clients. In other words, if
someone asks when they can expect to receive the
finished product, promise it a day or two beyond when
you know you can have it finished. When you present it
a day early because you not only met the deadline, but
exceeded it, you look like superstar. It might just
help you get that promotion you have been seeking!
Reconfirm appointments
Reconfirm all meetings and appointments the day before. How
many times have you arrived for a meeting only to find out
the other person wrote it down for the wrong date and didn't
show up? This applies to doctors' appointments, too.
Clothes Closet Organizing
If you
wear something once and it doesn't need to be cleaned, hang it
inside out. That way, after you wear it a second time you will
know it may need to be cleaned afterward. One of my clients
said this was the best tip I had ever given her.
E-mail subject line
In
our haste, we often use the last e-mail we received from someone
and hit respond when we are writing to them about a totally
different subject. A business colleague of mine recently
commented that she thought it was great that I always revise the
subject line to state specifically what the e-mail is about.
This makes it so much easier when you have to go back in and
find an e-mail weeks or months later!
Purge Papers Periodically
After developing a customized, user-friendly filing
system, I encourage my clients to review the contents and discard
unneeded documents semi-annually or at the very least annually.
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When
renewed insurance policies are received, shred the expired
ones.
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Discard
reference material that may have been needed for a special
project if all of the information has been incorporated in
the project documentation.
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Hold onto
receipts for expensive items and/or anything under warranty
or covered by insurance.
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Shred
bills and bank statements that are not needed for tax
purposes.
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Check with
your accountant, attorney and/or professional organizer with
any questions.
T.I.M.E. -
To Individuals Means Everything
We
all have the same twenty-four hours in a day. It's how we
choose to spend our time that is key. Planning our days on
paper or electronically is critical. When you list the items
you want to accomplish on a given day, enter them on your
calendar or in your electronic device based on the time of day
that you intend to do them and allot enough time to complete
them. If something doesn't get accomplished, move it to the
next day. If it continues to be rescheduled, rethink your
priorities. It was either not as important as you thought and
should be crossed off totally or perhaps you need to delegate
the task to someone else!
To use tips in published material, please
contact Suzy Wilkoff.
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