Denton County Magazine • Mar 23 • ORGANIZATION ELATION

Simple systems and habits can help you master your budget and reach long-term goals.

Having money is fun. Being broke isn’t. The better you manage your money, the more likely you’ll have enough in the bank.

But you need to be organized to manage money wisely. Without a system, you could miss a payment on a bill, incur bank fees or make a mistake on your tax return. Here are a few helpful tips to get a handle on your finances.

First, see how things look. Calculate your total income, including side gigs, then add up how much you spend each month. “You know what your rent or mortgage is already, so it’s just a matter of collecting the data for your other expenses,” said financial adviser Robert Cordiak, senior vice president at RBC Wealth Management, which has clients in Dallas and Denton counties and across North Texas.

In a notebook or spreadsheet, list your fixed expenses for the past month, like utilities, internet, phone and insurance. In a separate column, list variable expenses, such as clothing, gas and entertainment. The sum of your fixed and variable expenses together should be less than your total income. If it’s not, you need to make some cuts, Cordiak said. Trimming the cost of gym memberships, cellphone plans and meals out can help decrease the total for discretionary spending and reduce the stress of having “more month than money.”

Cordiak recommends tracking expenses for several months to identify spending patterns and look for ways to save. “You don’t need a complex software program,” like Quicken or Quickbooks unless you own a business, he said.

Cordiak likes using manila folders to keep financial records. “Anything tax-related goes into one file, medical and dental expenses in another file, and charitable giving in another,” he said of his old-school system, which also includes files for utilities, investments and mortgage statements. He recommends reviewing all documents once a year to see whether any expenses have been creeping up. Once you file your taxes, the papers can be shredded.

His final piece of advice? “Start habits early,” especially saving, Cordiak said. The earlier you start putting aside even a small sum each month, the more you will benefit down the road.

1.Put bills in a dedicated folder or basket in plain sight. Schedule a set day each week to review the bills and pay the ones coming due.

2.Track spending with a budgeting app, like Empower Finance, Mint, GoodBudget or the Wally personal finance app.

3.Keep mortgage statements and receipts for home repairs in a long-term file until the mortgage is paid in full.

4.Create folders for receipts and warranties for big expenditures, like home appliances.

5.If your finances are a mess, work with a financial consultant to get organized, set goals and track your progress effectively.

Paying attention to your legal affairs concerning heirs will go a long way toward a sense of calm and peace.

Remember all those papers 5 TIPS you filled out when you opened your bank account, or those forms you signed for life insurance, your house or retirement accounts? You know, the ones you brought home and filed away?

It’s time to get these papers out and organize your legal life to create clear instructions for after your death.

Preparing your estate can seem overwhelming. Dena A. Reecer, an attorney who is board certified in estate planning and probate law, recommends starting by identifying your assets. “Do you own real estate, oil and gas interests, investments, bank accounts, automobiles, boats or anything else that has a title? There is homework to be done when you do estate planning, and those are important pieces of the puzzle,” said Reecer, who is the owner of The Reecer Law Firm in Denton.

Once you’ve gathered those documents, note whose name is on the title, if any beneficiaries are listed, and if there is an account designation like transfer on death or joint right of survivorship. Why is this important? “What is listed on these accounts is contractual and will have precedence over what you put in a will,” Reecer said. “Make sure it is still what you want.”

Next, ask yourself important questions: Who do you want to benefit from your estate when you pass? Who do you want in charge of ensuring that happens? Who do you want to make decisions for you if you become incapacitated? Who would you want to raise your children?

Once you have gathered your documents and considered the important questions, write down your thoughts and wishes, sign it and date it. If you are able, consult an estate attorney who can walk you through creating and filing a will.

Whether you use professional legal help or not, once your documents are gathered and your wishes are noted, create a dedicated place to store this important information. Reecer recommends a fireproof container, such as a safe, and advises to hold on to the original documents. Make sure your beneficiaries know where your estate papers are located. If you are using a safe deposit box at a bank, designate your executor so they will have access.

Taking care of business now can give you and your family peace of mind for years to come.

1.Hand-written wishes are considered legal. Be sure to sign and date the document.

2.Be wary of using legal forms found online. They often are one-size-fits-all and may not apply to you and your estate.

3.Choose a contingent beneficiary in case something happens to your first choice. While this can be a tough decision, it’s an important one to make.

4.If you already have a will, review it to ensure it reflects your current wishes. Also, check the documents for your banking and retirement accounts, investments, insurance policies, deeds and titles to review who is listed as a beneficiary.

Good skin care should start early in life with a daily facial routine both morning and evening, said Melody Van Drunen, director of operations and salon esthetician at Davanti Salon in Denton. Wash your face twice -- first, to remove sweat, oil and makeup, and second, to deep cleanse. Use a toner specific to your skin type to reset your skin’s pH balance. Once weekly, exfoliate or use a treatment mask.

“The only difference between the morning and evening cleansing routine is that you apply sunscreen in the morning,” Van Drunen said. Always remove face and eye makeup at night.

Tanning is never OK, she said, adding that the salon carries sunless tanning products.

Keep in mind that skin care is seasonal, so products for hydration and sun protection will change throughout the year.

Regarding hair care, “There is no ‘one size fits all’ approach for cleansing hair,” said Kippin Fuller, a stylist at Davanti. “Treating the scalp is the foundation for good hair, and we carry products like scalp serum.”

Fuller advises not to wash your hair every day. “We carry great refresh products that revive two- and three-day hair,” she said.

When you shampoo, wash your hair twice, and use conditioner after, Fuller said. “Treatment masks can be used after every four shampoos to strengthen, rebuild or add moisture,” she said. “As with skin care, the changing seasons also call for focusing on seasonal hair issues, like dryness.”

Davanti’s line of professional quality hair color can actually repair hair, while adding shine and condition. Glossing is a nocolor hair color treatment that just increases shine.

“My rule of thumb for cutting or trimming hair is that any length from collarbone or longer can go a maximum of 12 weeks, and collarbone or shorter, six weeks,” Fuller said.

A good salon has consultants who can advise and take you through the maze of beauty products that are available.

“Within our Fort Worth and Denton locations, we do both hair and skin care, working with a full range of Aveda products for hair, face and body,” Van Drunen said. “We offer consultations, where clients and future clients sit with an expert and we come up with products that are best for them, then educate them on those selections.”

You have stuffed one last receipt into the overflowing drawer in the kitchen and shoved another pile of children’s toys in the corner of the living room. Face facts: It’s time to get organized. But fight the urge to run out and buy organizational products such as shelves, baskets, bins and the like. Instead, start with a plan.

Moria Soden, a designer and owner of 1720 Design Group in Denton, begins by having clients create what she calls a “petting zoo,” which is a collection of images from magazines or websites that help illustrate your dream abode. In those pictures, is that entryway full of camping equipment? If not, then folded tents and sleeping bags need a designated storage spot in a different area of your home.

Soden then recommends creating a checklist of tasks to realize your vision, keeping in mind your space and budget. “It can seem overwhelming, so I recommend you put everything into one absolute checklist. This also allows you to be more creative,” she said.

Commit to accomplishing one item from your checklist a week or a month, whichever time frame works for you. Follow your checklist to stay focused, Soden advises, and accomplish tasks on that list first. (And who doesn’t like checking completed items off a to-do list?)

High-traffic areas like kitchens often are on people’s lists to tackle. A good place to start is getting items off the counters, Soden said. Make better use of cabinet space by investing in pull-out drawers or shelves that allow you to access all your space more effectively.

With more people working from home, it’s easy to let your “home office” take up residency on your couch or in the kitchen. If you don’t have the luxury of using an extra room, create an office in another area, Soden said. For example, put a desk in the corner of the living room or bedroom. Keep office items in the dedicated space rather than strewn about other areas.

Don’t forget vertical space. To store items you rarely use, such as outdoor equipment or holiday decorations, consider utilizing systems that attach to the ceiling of your garage.

After completing your tasks, take a look and see what works and what doesn’t, then tweak it, Soden said. And then congratulate yourself on finishing your checklist.

1.Consider donating nice, usable items to charities. It’s easier to let go of things when you know they can help others.

2.Are you a collector? In one of your rooms, put shelving near the ceiling to showcase your collection and utilize available space.

3.Box and store items you want to keep on shelves in your closet. It’s a space that often goes unused for storage. 4.Keep items

compartmentalized. Kitchen items, for example, belong in the kitchen and leave the living space open for family time.

Whether you make gourmet or simple meals in your kitchen, a good system for organization will help save one of your scarcest resources -- time. Angie Graffigna is the chef and owner of Food Experience Corp., a commercial kitchen in Aubrey, and she has some advice to help make your kitchen a serene space for food prep.

In addition to saving time, organizing will help you plan your grocery shopping, which will save you money, too, said Graffigna, who has degrees in hotel and restaurant management as well as the culinary arts.

“With a few minutes, at a glance, you can tell what you are missing and what you are running low on,” Graffigna said. “No more buying duplicates of anything, or extra trips to the grocery store.”

When planning your groceries, decide the meals you’ll be making for the week and build a list from there. Keep staples like salt, flour, oil and butter, and replenish as needed. Always use a list when going to the grocery store. Think about making meals with ingredients that go in more than one meal.

An organized kitchen is always easier to clean and maintain -- in less time, Graffigna said. In the restaurant industry, managers try to avoid the “Iced Tea Tai Chi,” she said. This refers to making too many movements (mimicking the practice of tai chi), trying to reach for scattered food and implements to make something such as iced tea.

“Make sure that all the elements needed to complete each step of service are in the same place, in a logical progression,” Graffigna said. Think about how many movements you are performing in the kitchen for each task and rearrange the location of those items to make your work easier.

The design and flow of your kitchen should make sense to those using it, said Graffigna, whose business offers catering for small to medium events, cooking classes for children and adults and interactive dinner parties.

“What type of recipes do you make?” Graffigna said. “Do you bake a lot? Do you cook vegetarian and need a large space to wash and chop vegetables? Do you prefer takeout and need space for containers for leftovers? Do you cook for one or 10? To me, the most efficient design and organization of a kitchen is the one that is as customized as possible.”

Looking for inspiration online can be a good place to start, as long as you have decided on your final goal, Graffigna said. “Do you need more space? What will the space be used for? Do you need to install a whole new stove? Or just more shelves in the pantry?”

If the idea of organizing your kitchen feels overwhelming, Graffigna suggests hiring an interior designer, or working with an instore design department from stores like Ikea, Lowe’s, Home Depot, or the Container Store. You also can check into a local college for guidance. Collin College in McKinney, for example, has a school for interior design, and students must complete practical applications.

1.Customize your organization. Think about what you’ll do in the kitchen, such as the types of recipes, routines and number of meals cooked each week, to organize the flow of your space.

2.Add lighting. Consider where you might have natural light, or access to good lighting. If possible, add more electrical outlets in practical locations.

3.Think vertical. Commercial kitchens with a large volume of food stack items on shelves instead of beside each other. This helps even in a small space. You also can hang large pots and pans from a suspended rack to save space. Use stackable food storage bins and containers.

4.Choose appliances that have different attachments for different purposes, versus multiple pieces of equipment.

5.Follow the FIFO rule. Store and use products in your pantry and fridge by the “first in, first out” rule, following expiration dates.