Take the fear out of filing! Just get organized.
April 15. The universal, all-American, democratic (small “d”) Day of Reckoning. The date embedded in our brain, never very far from the surface. An ultimate day of accountability. The last day to file your tax return. (This year it is actually Tuesday, April 17th, but you get the point.) How well organized were you this year to file easily and on time?
I am gonna go with the assumption (one should always give friends the benefit of the doubt) that if you are reading this blogpost, you are sitting around smugly that you have no need for a last-minute sprint to the finish line. That you have long since filed your 2017 tax return and have moved on to living a more fiscally efficient and personally responsible life in 2018.
So, to all of you sitting pretty today, and those of you who wish you were, I want to use this day to offer some organizing “upgrades” that will make next year’s tax season “come in like a lion and go out like a lamb.”
First, do you have a simple and sufficient system for organizing your paperwork, finances, investments, tax-related and tax-deductible business expenses? Do you struggle each year with too many receipts, random envelopes, and missing documents required to prepare your taxes? If so, while the problems and pain they caused you this year are fresh in your mind, let’s FIX what’s not working so next year, doing your taxes will be easier and more efficient. Here are a few simple steps you can take.
- Set up your tracking methods and monthly “filing” of paperwork to correspond to the IRS standard tax return line items (or any tax return software you use) and itemized deductions. Save yourself (and any tax preparer) time and trouble by having everything organized and ready to enter.
- It’s time to go digital, folks. Chances are you have a hybrid scenario now – some digital bill payment, some paper, and even more chance things will fall between the cracks. Make 2018 the year to get it all digital and cloud-based. Try FileThis to securely centralize your financial life! Yes, the set up on the front end can be a hassle, but once it’s done, WOW! (While this blog post is targeted to individual filings, if you have a small business, many of these options are good solutions for you too as you up your tax filing game, and some apps of course have a PRO version.)
- If you cannot bear to let go of paper, invest in an accordion file designed for this purpose or create your own, label each category, and consistently place all paperwork, receipts, medical expenses, etc. in the CORRECT spot on a daily/weekly/monthly basis – whatever works best for you. Once you get used to filing or uploading documents on a regular basis, it becomes easy to do like any other routine or good habit.
The KEY TO SUCCESS is to find what’s “just right…” – for you. Most apps and programs offer the basic version for free, or at least a free trial, and I highly recommend you work with a system before you go all in.
Second, what immediate gratification comes from getting this part of your life organized even before next tax season rolls around? The productivity cliché “Do it now” or Nike’s call to get fit with its “Just do it” slogan resonate for a reason. Because getting unpleasant things off your plate or getting in shape feels great – especially after the fact! Once an unpleasant chore or a difficult workout is over, you feel a sense of accomplishment and personal pride. That translates into feeling good, strong, competent. FEARLESS. Worthy of reward. Like, take time to sit on the porch and read a book. See a friend. Do something fun. You’re free. You did it!
It takes more time and energy to THINK about unpleasant tasks than it often does to just GET IT DONE and move on. So, biting the bullet on organizing your financial life will free up psychic energy you can use to pursue other more enjoyable parts of your life. Defang tax time! Don’t let the dread of the Day of Reckoning govern you.
Lastly, what is the big picture message or “life lesson” to be learned from trying to eliminate all the “mishegas” (Yiddish slang for insanity or craziness) that accompanies the annual ritual of filing our taxes?
Whether we think about it this way or not, each and every day of our life is a day of reckoning.
Our time, the amount of mental and emotional bandwidth we have, our money – all of it is a finite resource, which means each time we choose to do (or not do) one thing, we are giving up on something else. When we start making decisions by design, not default, we start making choices in favor of what we really want and need – not just what is easy or expedient.
Getting organized and feeling better really can be achieved with SIMPLE & EASY STEPS! We just need to swap out counterproductive habits for better ones. Pretty soon, your NEW ROUTINE becomes automatic – and everything gets easier. Try these tax-taming ideas, or research others–and simplify your tax “housekeeping” habits in 2018.
And that, my friends, is your local organizer’s free of charge (therefore not tax-deductible) professional advice. I look forward to hearing everyone’s horror stories and brilliant solutions to ensure that April 15 next year is a literal, and metaphorical, walk in the park! For my part, I’m off to the woods with my dogs.