Keeping Good Records

With so much financial hustle n' bustle in our daily lives, it helps to have a guiding light to keep us on track. About.com's Jeremy Bowinkle has 10 tips to help you solve and manage your financial troubles.

We'll be counting down to one from number 10. Start the drumroll, please.

10. Keep Good Records

If you don't keep good records, you're probably not claiming all your allowable income tax deductions and credits. Set up a system now and use it all year. It's much easier than scrambling to find everything at tax time, only to miss items that might have saved you money.

This is true. While as a 24-year-old in-school-individual, my taxes are fairly simple, I have a huge amount of paperwork and receipts piled up carelessly in a file folder dating back from 2003. While it's fun to have all that all neatly stacked up, the hording must stop. If you're just an individual, not a business, you only need to keep records for the past three years. Any more than this and you're becoming a pack rat. I'm going to go clean out my records now in preparation for coming tax season, I hope you do the same, and good luck to us all.

Update

Money I have in debt so far is about 12000 in student loans and about 1000 from Millwood Hospital. Plus the 5000 they are going to give me. It's looking like I'll be focused on putting that 5000 into a CD, which will double it in a years or certain amount a months time. Therefore, making me money, with which to pay back my student loans.

While I do this there is the MAV Promise which I'm not quite sure I'm eligible, I will use to further fund my education. After tax season comes the FAFSA. Things are moving pretty smoothly, with the exception of me overspending my monthly budget. Ah well, things will work out in the end.


Thanks for following. Tip of the week: Use your money to make money, invest in CDs.