14 December 2007 126 views No Comment Print This Post  Email This Post

I handle all of my bills through my bank’s online bill pay system. I like it, it’s handy, and it makes my life run just that much smoother. But I’ve noticed that I just don’t have a quick way to pull out information like a contact number for the cable company, or know where my account number for the electric company is.

The only time we need this sort of information is when something goes wrong, and we’re maybe a little bit flustered already. Sure, I have most of the original paperwork hidden away in one of my filing cabinets, but I used to get monthly reminders of that information when my paper bill came in the mail. I don’t miss the extra stacks of paper, but I miss being able to just pick the most recent bill out of my ‘to file’ bin and pull any necessary information off of it.

I can typically get it through the company’s website, after racking my mind and trying half a dozen passwords. But I’m lazy. All of this work just doesn’t appeal to me. Instead, I like solutions that require very little effort on my part — especially the sort of reoccurring effort that I wind up going through every time I have to look for a particular company’s phone number.

But there is a better way to do this. Basically, all I have to do is keep all of that information in one place — preferably not as a big stack of paper that I continuously have to shuffle through. Because I’m quite fond of searchable documents, I made a spreadsheet: account numbers, phone numbers, and, for good measure, passwords. I do have to remember to update it when I open a new account somewhere, but it’s obviously a lot less work than the old system. This system might not work for you — but I’ve found that the system itself isn’t important. Instead, the fact that you have a system is enough to make you more efficient.

Why are these little tidbits of efficiency so important to personal finance? Well, if you’re spending your time hunting for a phone number, you’re not earning any money, and you’re certainly not doing something you enjoy. The more you can eliminate little annoying tasks, the more time you have for your personal projects. After all, a common goal of personal finance junkies is to be able to afford the time for enjoyment and relaxation. I don’t think I can over-emphasize the importance of efficiency in personal finance.

Thumbnail image by Francois