I don't know much about being a millionaire ...

"I don't know much about being a millionaire, but I'll bet I'd be darling at it." - Dorothy Parker

I know I would be a fabulous millionaire, but until then, I need to keep my money organised, so that perhaps ... maybe ... one day!

At Blair Lifestyle, we aren't experts in investments or banking (we have some of those listed in the blue panel), but we can help you get the basics sorted.

Being financially unorganised can cost you big-time:
* late fees;
* missing out on discounts for early payment;
* unclaimed medical or medicare benefits;
* unread notices of increase/decreates to terms and conditions or rates.

... and that's just for starters. So lets deal with the basics:

Get all your financial records all in the one place. If you can't find bills how can you pay them? At a minimum create a file for "Bill to Pay", "Paid Bills", "Bank Statements", "Credit Card Statements". This can become very detailed, but this is a great place to start if you have no system in place.

Direct Payments. Many services such as telco's, utilities and credit cards have facilities to automatically take payment for your accounts each month � this ensures you will never pay late fees.

Create a schedule. Put a recurring appointment in your calendar reminding you to look in the "Bills To Pay" folder every week, it will take 10 minutes to open the file, check the due dates, write a cheque or do a direct deposit, done and dusted!

Check the mortgage/loans. Find out the date upon which your mortgage and/or loan repayments are due. Create another recurring appointment in your calendar to double check the balance the day before so you don't go over drawn and incur any fees.
Consolidate accounts. As I said we aren't financial planners, but if you can consolidate a number of savings/cheque accounts into one so you may avoid Bank Fees associated with multiple accounts, check with your own financial institution.

Superannuation. Check for unclaimed superannuation at the government's SuperSeeker website.

Double check your insurances. For medical insurance, trywww.iSelect.com.au or Australian Health Insurance Advisory. For other insurances source a broker from www.needabroker.com.au . For all types of business insurances, call YIB (see details in blue panel).

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