| Organized Filing System | | | | Reduce Bank Accounts |
| Having a well-organized and thorough filing system | | | | Consolidate your bank accounts and credit cards as |
| makes all the difference. Using an accounting program | | | | much as possible. If you have a separate business |
| like Quicken will help out a lot, but as long as you can | | | | card, savings account, or two, that is fine. However, |
| keep a small filing box or cabinet for important | | | | having three personal checking accounts is more likely |
| documents you can avoid having to search for them in | | | | to confuse you when it's time to track your financial |
| April. | | | | history. |
| Keep Only Important Documents | | | | Keep Records Together |
| As opposed to saving every single bank statement | | | | Any and every tax-related document should be kept in |
| and receipt, go through them and only keep those that | | | | the same place, or at least in close proximity. This will |
| are really prudent. The less you have to sort through | | | | assure nothing gets lost or misplaced, giving you peace |
| come tax season the better, so only keep essential | | | | of mind when anticipating the upcoming tax season. |
| and tax-related documents. | | | | Sort Your Receipts |
| Write Down Everything | | | | If you save every single receipt you get, you are going |
| Whenever you make a tax-deductible purchase or | | | | to have A LOT to go through when the time comes. |
| any other tax-related move, write it down. This way | | | | Instead, only save tax-deductible purchase receipts. By |
| you will have a quick and easy reference when you | | | | adding up your receipts monthly or bi-monthly, you can |
| need it, saving you time and making sure you don't | | | | also save time and stress later on. |
| miss a thing when tax season arrives. | | | | Get Professional Help |
| Figure Out Your Income | | | | When tax season is approaching, check out tax |
| Be prepared to know this number by heart during tax | | | | professionals in advance. Once the season gets rolling, |
| season. If you have had multiple jobs throughout the | | | | it will be more difficult to get all of your questions |
| year, make sure to keep accurate records of your | | | | answered thoroughly. An early start will ease tax |
| earning from each. The easiest way to do this is to | | | | stress and keep you ahead of the game! |
| make sure and keep all of your pay stubs. | | | | |