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The tree fell.
Big maple in our yard. I *liked* that tree, too. Fortunately, it didn't break any windows or our roof (though it's displaced a few squirrels...) and it looks like we're going to be getting a LOT more sun as soon as it's taken down properly (trust me, we're calling a professional. By now we all know the hazards of do-it-yourself tree removal).
This is how we found out our phone's been disconnected for lack of payment. Again. This is not my mother's fault, she never got the bill. The fact that you have to pay the bill regardless of whether or not you see it doesn't seem to occur to her. It turns out that this is my fault. Apparently, my mother is incapable of finding the phone bill. In the mailbox. Ever. I should sort the mail and give it to her. Of course, we've tried that, and the end result is she never reads her mail. This is not her fault. And I know I've tried handing the mail to her, but then she claims she never got it (and it's my fault).
*screams*
It's okay, though. I'm setting her up for online billing. I'd like to see how it's my job to check her email for her.
This is how we found out our phone's been disconnected for lack of payment. Again. This is not my mother's fault, she never got the bill. The fact that you have to pay the bill regardless of whether or not you see it doesn't seem to occur to her. It turns out that this is my fault. Apparently, my mother is incapable of finding the phone bill. In the mailbox. Ever. I should sort the mail and give it to her. Of course, we've tried that, and the end result is she never reads her mail. This is not her fault. And I know I've tried handing the mail to her, but then she claims she never got it (and it's my fault).
*screams*
It's okay, though. I'm setting her up for online billing. I'd like to see how it's my job to check her email for her.
Paper == yecch
1. Online billing / online bill pay
2. Sorting incoming mail in detail. Acquire or make a small-office style set of mailbox shelves. When mail comes in, it should be filed in the appropriate spot.
When I lived with a friend, we had "Personal mail - NEW" and "Personal mail - Seen / In Progress" for each person in the house, "Obvious Household Bills - NEW", "Current Resident", "MAIL ME NOW", "No idea", etc. Since we had the tendency to leave mail in our "Personal mail - NEW" boxes," we also created flags to indicate statefulness: the words "NEW MAIL", written on index cards, in a different color for each person in the house.
Next to the mailbox shelves, we kept a small set of file index-tabbed folders. These were also handy for filing bills and correspondence, but the key element here was the "TO PAY" folders:
1-7
8-14
15-21
21-28
29-31
(and, eventually, "LATER"--which actually stayed pretty empty-- and "PAID-FILE ME")
There were also two varieties of envelopes, stamps, and return labels.
As we had time, we'd look at the stuff in the "OBVIOUS HOUSEHOLD BILLS" pile. If we had a few moments, we'd take a look at the due date, remove the statement/payment coupon/envelope, concatenate and paper-clip if necessary, and stick it in the proper folder. I created a "BILL SPAM" folder after a bit, for all of those silly little inserts they stick in the bills-- while such things were often worth reading, I didn't want to worry about being distracted from extracting the important stuff, so having a place to throw them in the intervening period was helpful. (Besides, accidentally discarding reply envelopes was not fun. Did it once, didn't want to repeat it.)
One day a week-- Sunday night worked well for us-- we'd set aside an hour to go through all the bills, write checks, run through the new bills if we hadn't had time during the week, etc. Since cash flow was occasionally... interesting, we found it helpful to sort bills by when they were due.
Because these things were not obvious to me, I developed and worked off of a mental checklist:
-1. Do a new bill shell/file/sort if necessary
0. Clear off a spot for workspace. Lay out supplies. Make certain that "swap space" exists for any temporary piles.
1. Remove ONE bill bundle.
2. Write check. Use duplicate checks or write out stub information. If bill specifies that customer information must be indicated on the check, do so.
3. Verify that the check info matches. Verify correct date. Verify signature. Etc.
4. Note this information on the part that you retain.
4. Write out an envelope, or locate the vendor-supplied reply envelope. Attach return address label.
5. Detach stub. Review check and stub again, check to see if the envelope is the correct envelope, that the information on the customer part you keep is correct, etc. When verified, place in envelope and seal.
6. Place your sealed envelope in a temporary "OUT" pile. (Stamps==distraction, and therefore best applied in bulk later.)
7. Mark the customer part/receipt/portion you retain as PAID, if this has not already been done. File in PAID or in the appropriate records folder.
8. You should now have an outbound envelope and nothing else. Any additional items should go to BILL SPAM or should be discarded.
(repeat...)
Once a bill was paid, it was marked clearly as such. At first, we just wrote PAID-(date)-(check number/amt) on the customer receipt portion, but we eventually got a spiffy PAID/date stamp with blank lines for check and amount details. If we had time, we filed it in the proper spot (e.g., the "Pac Bell" folder), but we usually stuck it in the PAID folder until the Uncomfortable Bulging File police came a-callin'.
I chose to put stamps on the pile of ready-to-go envelopes at the very end. I love stamps, and tend to get lost in the details of intricate artwork or in the act of putting the stamps on 'just right'. I know it's a little silly, but it makes me happy. Leaving this for the end was my little reward.
The stack-o'-bills then went to the OUTBOX, or even straight to the post office.
As elaborate as it may sound, this level of structure is what it took for me to pay my bills on time, prevent domestic strife and utility shutoffs in a shared house, etc.
G.
OOPS-- never mind the numbering
I just noticed the numbers in the checklist are... interesting. Forgot to change some of them as I recalled additional steps (it's been a while since I've iterated through it, which is not a good thing.) Correction is left as an exercise to the reader. :-)
*general hugs*
Re: OOPS-- never mind the numbering
Not that it matters. I've given up on my mom and the mail.
Paper == yecch
1. Online billing / online bill pay
2. Sorting incoming mail in detail. Acquire or make a small-office style set of mailbox shelves. When mail comes in, it should be filed in the appropriate spot.
When I lived with a friend, we had "Personal mail - NEW" and "Personal mail - Seen / In Progress" for each person in the house, "Obvious Household Bills - NEW", "Current Resident", "MAIL ME NOW", "No idea", etc. Since we had the tendency to leave mail in our "Personal mail - NEW" boxes," we also created flags to indicate statefulness: the words "NEW MAIL", written on index cards, in a different color for each person in the house.
Next to the mailbox shelves, we kept a small set of file index-tabbed folders. These were also handy for filing bills and correspondence, but the key element here was the "TO PAY" folders:
1-7
8-14
15-21
21-28
29-31
(and, eventually, "LATER"--which actually stayed pretty empty-- and "PAID-FILE ME")
There were also two varieties of envelopes, stamps, and return labels.
As we had time, we'd look at the stuff in the "OBVIOUS HOUSEHOLD BILLS" pile. If we had a few moments, we'd take a look at the due date, remove the statement/payment coupon/envelope, concatenate and paper-clip if necessary, and stick it in the proper folder. I created a "BILL SPAM" folder after a bit, for all of those silly little inserts they stick in the bills-- while such things were often worth reading, I didn't want to worry about being distracted from extracting the important stuff, so having a place to throw them in the intervening period was helpful. (Besides, accidentally discarding reply envelopes was not fun. Did it once, didn't want to repeat it.)
One day a week-- Sunday night worked well for us-- we'd set aside an hour to go through all the bills, write checks, run through the new bills if we hadn't had time during the week, etc. Since cash flow was occasionally... interesting, we found it helpful to sort bills by when they were due.
Because these things were not obvious to me, I developed and worked off of a mental checklist:
-1. Do a new bill shell/file/sort if necessary
0. Clear off a spot for workspace. Lay out supplies. Make certain that "swap space" exists for any temporary piles.
1. Remove ONE bill bundle.
2. Write check. Use duplicate checks or write out stub information. If bill specifies that customer information must be indicated on the check, do so.
3. Verify that the check info matches. Verify correct date. Verify signature. Etc.
4. Note this information on the part that you retain.
4. Write out an envelope, or locate the vendor-supplied reply envelope. Attach return address label.
5. Detach stub. Review check and stub again, check to see if the envelope is the correct envelope, that the information on the customer part you keep is correct, etc. When verified, place in envelope and seal.
6. Place your sealed envelope in a temporary "OUT" pile. (Stamps==distraction, and therefore best applied in bulk later.)
7. Mark the customer part/receipt/portion you retain as PAID, if this has not already been done. File in PAID or in the appropriate records folder.
8. You should now have an outbound envelope and nothing else. Any additional items should go to BILL SPAM or should be discarded.
(repeat...)
Once a bill was paid, it was marked clearly as such. At first, we just wrote PAID-(date)-(check number/amt) on the customer receipt portion, but we eventually got a spiffy PAID/date stamp with blank lines for check and amount details. If we had time, we filed it in the proper spot (e.g., the "Pac Bell" folder), but we usually stuck it in the PAID folder until the Uncomfortable Bulging File police came a-callin'.
I chose to put stamps on the pile of ready-to-go envelopes at the very end. I love stamps, and tend to get lost in the details of intricate artwork or in the act of putting the stamps on 'just right'. I know it's a little silly, but it makes me happy. Leaving this for the end was my little reward.
The stack-o'-bills then went to the OUTBOX, or even straight to the post office.
As elaborate as it may sound, this level of structure is what it took for me to pay my bills on time, prevent domestic strife and utility shutoffs in a shared house, etc.
G.
OOPS-- never mind the numbering
I just noticed the numbers in the checklist are... interesting. Forgot to change some of them as I recalled additional steps (it's been a while since I've iterated through it, which is not a good thing.) Correction is left as an exercise to the reader. :-)
*general hugs*
Re: OOPS-- never mind the numbering
Not that it matters. I've given up on my mom and the mail.