Organizing the Home Office, Part Two: Calendar and Budget
ORGANIZING THE HOME OFFICE, PART TWO: CALENDAR AND BUDGET
As with all guides at Urban Home Blog, this is not meant to
be a comprehensive list but one of suggestions based on my own experience as a
lifestyle writer, homekeeper, and administrative professional. None of this is
meant to replace or supersede professional direction or advise, including legal
or actuarial. As always, none of these is a compensated endorsement.
Office Systems - Overview
Four aspects of office management, known collectively as office systems, translate to the home office.
These are calendar, budget, correspondence, and paperwork and records.
We addressed paperwork and records, which relate to the other three systems, in the previous column. In
this column, we will address calendar, budget, and correspondence.
Office Systems - Calendar
Any office administrator will tell you that the core
system of a well-functioning office is a master calendar, correctly kept and
utilized. A master calendar contains everything everyone needs to know
(sometimes discretionarily) in order for everything to be happening that needs
to happen. A master calendar is much more useful than its basic function of recording
appointments so that they can be attended. Correctly kept and utilized, a
master calendar is a time management system that synthesizes people and events
into a singular central schedule. Its function is not only so that everyone can
be where they need to be and that those who need to know can know where
everyone is, but to become a record, both living and historical, from which to
learn the rhythm of the organization, a practice known in business as
optimization.
We use the term "busy household" off-handedly,
but I have never encountered a household that isn't busy. The rhythm of a
household is daily (sometimes moment to moment), weekly, monthly, annual, and
seasonal. A household master calendar manages the practical aspects of the
always-busy element of family scheduling. By doing so, it provides insight into
windows of precious free time. A household master calendar is also a family
record, as important in its way to memory-keeping as it is to the practical
details of daily living. In our urban home, we put everything on the master
calendar. Everything. That means medical appointments, important dates such as
birthdays, travel plans, deadlines, and timely reminders. etc. It may seem
comical to an outsider, but while neither of us likes to over-schedule our time,
we do like to manage our time rather than having time manage us.
Cozi is a free online calendar management program with pay
features available. The basic program follows a straightforward online calendar
format that is easy and intuitive to use. Cozi utilizes a single log-in and
password to be accessible to home office computer and laptop, and it syncs
correctly via its app with household devices such as iphone, ipad, and Kindle. We
utilize the notes and contacts features of our online calendar, but the feature
we utilize extensively is the calendar itself.
Calendar - Appointments and Notifications
Two basic types of calendar entries suffice for most
household schedules: appointments and notifications. Appointments are just
that: time scheduled for a specific purpose. We try to schedule routine
professional appointments (doctor, veterinarian,
dentist, eye exam, accountant, financial advisor, vehicle service, etc.) at the new year,
depending upon how far in advance that office schedules. But appointments are
also activity based (example: gym, reading group, affinity group meeting)
and event based (example: conferences, hobby shows, dinner plans). Notifications
are just that: notes housed in the calendar that advise of calendar-related
items of note (example: birthdays and anniversaries, approaching deadlines,
travel, etc.).
Appointment entries are fairly detailed and inhabit
specific blocks of time on the calendar. Good appointment entries indicate the
specific block of time an event occurs by being entered at the start time of
the event to conclude whenever the event is expected to conclude. For example,
a doctor's appointment that starts at 9:00 a.m. is entered at the 9 a.m. block
on the calendar, and if it should last an hour then it is blocked for that
hour, meaning entered to conclude at 10:00 a.m. or by clicking "one
hour," whichever way the calendar is configured. The subject line is the
type of appointment and the individual/s affected (example: Dr. Andrews -
John). Address is as specific as it needs to be for the attendee/s, including cross streets, elevator bank, floor number,
parking, etc. Include relevant notes (transportation, on-site contact, etc.) in the body of the calendar item
. For important items or those
impacting a busy or forgetful individual, click the reminder button located in
the calendar item and set it to send the reminder at the date, time, and method (push notification, text, etc.) that it would be best delivered to the
intended.
Notifications are primarily informational and inhabit a
stretch of time on the calendar but not a specific block of it. Good
notification entries are timely but can be comprehended at a glance. For
example, a birthday notice is entered on the day of the birthday with a
reminder set for a few days prior. An approaching deadline is entered on the
deadline date with a reminder set for a relevant date in advance of the
deadline. For example, the income tax deadline of April 15 may require a
reminder as early as February 1. Notifications can also be FYI items to keep
track of whereabouts such as working late, excursions, etc.
Travel is both an appointment and a notification. Enter the
full dates of travel as a notification that begins on the departure date of the
trip and concludes on the return date of the trip. Enter a reminder on the
notification if there are any important details to be sure are taken care of,
such as passport or visa. Then enter the trip details (flights, hotel,
meetings, events, etc.) as appointments, each containing relevant information
such as confirmation numbers, frequent traveler information, cancellation date
reminders, time zone, etc. When the trip is concluded, print the notification
containing the span of travel dates and place it with the trip receipts in the
household financials file box discussed in the previous column.
Office Systems - Budget
Note: This section corresponds solely to general tools and
techniques for managing a household budget. It is understood that only financial
professionals such as bankers, financial advisors, accountants, etc. are
qualified to provide financial advice or counsel.
There was a time when family and community taught skills
that might be referred to as Life 101, which as a practice we have moved away
from socially. One such was the simple, vital act of balancing a checkbook. Some
of us are surprised to learn how many people still maintain their budget
through balancing a paper checkbook and some of us are surprised to learn than
anyone doesn't. However it's done, creating and balancing a household budget and
then living within its parameters is a reality that, even when tempting to
evade, does not go away.
Three popular online budget systems are Quicken, Mint and Acorns,
but for our household and its relatively simple expenses, we utilize a
spreadsheet from the numbers program on our computer. Spreadsheets can be
customized based upon the template of the check register referenced above, and
can be perpetual, which is invaluable in tracking and documenting expenses over
time. Our household budget is password protected so it is secure, but it
contains no hackable information such as banking identifiers. It is funds and
expenditures only, in the spirit of keeping an important process as simple, and
therefore as efficient, as it can be kept.
We enter deposits and expenditures weekly during the same time
we dedicate to going through the weekly household paperwork. We have figured out
which of the spreadsheet's formulae identify deposits as positive numbers and
withdrawals as negative numbers, so the math does itself; we only have to enter
the pertinent information related to monies in and monies out. As a check and
balance, we compare the monthly budget with our monthly online banking
statement, which has taught us to be adept in identifying and rectifying
discrepancies in order to neutralize potential impact. These underscore the
importance both of keeping a household budget and of keeping the household financials file discussed in the previous column.
As one gets used to a budget, including going through it, it
becomes habit to identify how money behaves in the household: what funds come
in, what funds go out, and where the money goes. Regarding that, remember that
emotions run high when it comes to money. Almost nothing in the household
provides more potential for contention than the household budget. If necessary,
set ground rules before looking at, discussing, or acting upon the budget.
Savings, investments, and credit are part of the household
budget. These underscore the importance of trained and skilled financial
professionals as partners in the household finances. These include accountants,
tax professionals, financial advisors, investment professionals, bankers, and
financial attorneys. Whatever your household financials are, it is of benefit
to develop relationships with trustworthy financial professionals and to
utilize their services.
When you meet with your household financial partners, it is
responsible to be prepared:
- Open and read your banking and investment statements as they become available. Note any questions or concerns you have and determine if they require immediate action (in which case, attend to it) or can wait for the next consultation.
- During regularly scheduled meetings, notably at tax time, a financial partner can utilize a printout of the household budget to ensure that receipts match line items and to aggregate amounts for application or discussion.
- Put a notification in the household calendar (see above) to yearly request the free credit report per household member that each citizen is entitled by law to receive annually at no cost. Examine credit reports closely, and contact an advocate such as an attorney or a community center resource for help in addressing discrepancies or errors if any.
Finally, no general discussion of household budget is
complete without mentioning cost savings practices. Sign up for frequent
customer programs whenever they present actual benefit (example: frequent flier
programs, store programs that offer discounts or points, etc.). Get a coupon
wallet and organize it by errand -- one or two pockets each for grocery store,
pharmacy, big box store, etc. Get in the habit of filing coupons and offers at
the front of each pocket - that way, the newest will always be first to come to
hand, making it will be easiest to discard those that have expired. And while
coupons are a great tool for homekeeping, remember to be judicious in their use:
focus primarily on what you need and will use, and less or not at all on being
seduced into trying something new.
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