Streamline your finances in 8 steps

Use personal finance software

Each year Intuit’s Quicken Online and Microsoft Money get easier to use, thanks to download features that whisk details of your financial transactions from your bank, brokerage and credit card accounts directly into your computer. (Microsoft owns MSN Money.)

Both give you a way to keep track of your finances and plan for the future. You can see at a glance how much debt you have, what your brokerage accounts are worth and whether you’re staying within your budget -- all in one convenient format.

These programs are loaded with handy features, like reminders that tell you when bills are due and alerts that warn you if your checking account balance is about to dip below acceptable levels.

You’ll still need to spend a little time setting up your accounts and getting to know the program, but the payoff is a greater sense of control and less stress about your money.

Set up reminders

Today’s technology means you never have to pay another late fee. As mentioned above, your personal finance software can alert you when bills are due. Some credit cards, such as Discover, can send you an e-mail reminding you to pay. Online bill payment systems have bill reminder features as well.

Take advantage of these so you don’t have to rely on your memory to make sure bills get paid.

Consolidate your credit cards

The more cards you have, the more due dates, interest rates, fees and terms you have to keep track of -- and the more likely you are to make a mistake, pay a bill late and get hit with a fee.

Most people need only a small number of cards. If you carry a balance from month to month, consider consolidating all your debt onto one card if you can do so without using more than about 30% of your credit limit. Using more could hurt your credit score. Use a separate card for any new purchases, and don’t charge more than you can pay off each month. That way, you can minimize your interest rate charges while still having the convenience of being able to use a card.

Consolidate your accounts

The more scattered your money is, the harder it can be to track. Having a number of IRAs, mutual funds and brokerage accounts at several different financial institutions, for example, just creates more paperwork and headaches. Instead, move them all to one location and combine any accounts you can.

Some people have even closed down their bank accounts, opting to keep their money at brokerage firms. Brokerages offer checking and savings account services that mimic those at banks, and you may find it’s easier to move your money around when you don’t have to deal with transfers between institutions.

Set up a filing system that works

You should have one place to put your bills as soon as they come into the house. (If you get your bills electronically, they should be saved immediately to a specified e-mail folder -- or better still, paid. If you still get paper statements, the holding pen might be a basket on your desk.)

Paid bills and other financial documents should be filed away in logical order. Generally, each bank, credit card and brokerage account should have its own file, as should your workplace retirement accounts and insurance policies.

Office supply retailers have ready-made filing systems that might help you, such as HomeFile, a system created by two financial planners that tells you what documents to keep and for how long.

Once a year, after you’ve filed your tax return, go through your filing system. Pack away the old documents you need to keep and toss the receipts and statements you no longer need.

Implement all eight of these steps, and your days of late fees, bounced checks and confusion will be history. Instead, you’ll feel more in control of your money -- and your life.

Liz Pulliam Weston is the Web's most-read personal-finance writer. She is the author of several books, most recently "Your Credit Score: Your Money & What's at Stake." Weston's award-winning columns appear every Monday and Thursday, exclusively on MSN Money. She also answers reader questions on the Your Money message board.

Updated April 9, 2009

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