A common Filipino household typically manages several bills, from rent and utility bills to other necessities such as internet services, mobile phone plans, and insurance premiums. Many (if not all) of these billers also likely send physical copies of their bills each month to give customers a detailed breakdown of the services they've used as well as inform them about how much needs to be paid for the month.
Physical bills-together with other important paperwork at home, such as identification papers, land and house titles, insurance policies, and academic records-can all quickly pile up and feel unmanageable over time. It's definitely in your best interest to learn how to organize bills and other paperwork properly to avoid missing payment deadlines or losing important documents.
Feeling a bit overwhelmed with all the bills and paperwork you've been managing at home? Here are some tips to stay organized and to ensure that any document you need will always be within easy reach.
1) Go Paperless with E-Bills
One of the easiest ways to shrink that stack of paper bills you get at home while still being able to keep track of all of them is to opt for electronic bills. Common billers such as Meralco, Maynilad, and the majority of banks and internet service providers often offer e-billing options for your convenience. On top of that, you can use their website or e-wallets like Maya to pay bills online and get your receipts digitally as well. You can eventually work towards keeping your bill management completely paperless, thus reducing clutter at your home.
Another advantage of e-bills is their accessibility. You don't have to take time out of your day to organize multiple bills from different billers. Instead, they can automatically be filed in your digital accounts and arranged by chronological order. Search filters may even allow you to narrow your search to a specific timeframe.
Note that some billers send the bills directly to your email rather than a digital account, however. In such cases, you can create inbox folders specifically for your bills and move the files there after checking so that it's easy to find them again when needed.
2) Use Bill Tracking Tools or Apps
Tracking due dates can be a nightmare if you're managing multiple bills. This is perhaps the reason many people still opt for physical bills, as they believe that a physical reminder can help them keep track of those deadlines better. Fortunately, you can now rely on technology for the same principle.
For instance, many billers give you the option on their app to receive reminders via SMS, email, or notifications letting you know when a bill is due. You may also just create a simple spreadsheet and log due dates, amounts, and payment statuses. In addition, you can mark due dates on your phone's calendar or set alarms.
3) Use a Filing System
Even if you can get some of your bills digitally, you may still have tons of documents to manage at home such as old physical bills, property documents, birth certificates, bank statements, and more. The best way to keep them organized is by creating a filing system that allows you to find any specific documents you may need with ease.
Gather your documents and arrange them according to categories such as bills, bank statements, identification documents, legal documents, and the like. Then, place each category in a labeled binder before storing in a filing cabinet.
You can also try color-coding for quick identification. For instance, you may use red and blue folders for filing your utility bills. The ones that have been paid already go to the blue folder while unpaid bills are in red, thus giving you an easy visual cue to help you determine what else you need to pay.
4) Designate a Safe and Accessible Storage Space for Bills
Important documents must also be stored in a location where they won't get lost, damaged, or misplaced. Make sure to designate a specific box, drawer, or cabinet for your household's important documents.
If possible, use a fireproof or waterproof safe for high-value documents such as land titles, insurance policies, or certificates. Ensure as well that the storage space for your bills is clean and dry to avoid damage caused by pests, moisture, or dirt.
5) Digitize Physical Documents
Consider scanning your documents to have backup copies in case the original ones are damaged or lost. Nowadays, scanner apps enable you to take photos of the document via your phone and turn them into high-quality PDF copies. Make sure to properly name each file as well; something clear and concise, such as "Meralco_April2022.pdf," will allow you to find the specific document you're looking for even without opening each file.
Another advantage of digitizing physical documents is that they can be easier to organize and search. After saving all your digitized documents, create folders on your computer or on an online file storage such as Google Drive where you can arrange them accordingly. The latter storage option has the added benefit of being accessible even on the go. If, for instance, you need to check something on your insurance policy but you're not at home to fetch the document, then you can just go to your Google Drive and check the scanned copy from there.
With tips like these, organizing bills and other key household documents doesn't have to be as much of a hassle. Whatever methods you employ, just ensure that you have a system in place to keep physical and digital copies of your paperwork well-organized, secure, and easily accessible when needed.
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