Fun? Did I just call filing fun? Well, it can be if it’s pretty. Bear with me here.
Even though I’ve been freelancing at least part-time since 2003, this is the first year I feel I’ve developed a handle on tracking expenses and filing receipts. I really don’t enjoy keeping track of this sort of thing, so it tends to fall by the wayside in favor of chasing dust bunnies or returning phone calls–anything to avoid attending to numbers. Then spring rolls around and I pay dearly for my avoidance behavior when it comes time to meet with our accountant.
Here’s one very tiny, simple thing I’ve started doing this year. It’s no secret that I’m a slave to Target and its pretty, shiny offerings. One day I spotted one of those clear plastic envelope thingies with tabbed dividers you could label for each month. It’s a bit bigger than a checkbook and closes with a rubberband. And it’s purple. I labeled each tab by month, and every time I incur an expense or drive somewhere, I drop the receipt or (colorful, of course) Post-It note tracking mileage into the slot for that month. Like the receipt for buying the cool purple filing thingie. That was so January. Had I shopped now, I likely would’ve snagged one of these instead.
As for July, I think I’m going off in search of some of these to file market research and contracts. Or do you like these better? I’m betting Meagan would be all over these.
Share what works for you when tracking expenses. No method is too geeky, no storage space too purple.
