The Hidden Costs of Being Disorganized

So, recently Ed & I returned from being out of town for a week. While we were away I had yet another reminder/encounter of how being organized saves you money.

Let me quickly explain.

The last night of our trip we received the final hotel bill slipped underneath our door in the middle of the night. When I woke up the next morning and saw the bill under the door, I could have done two things:

1. I could have thrown the receipt in my purse and “worried” about it later when I got home which might not have gotten done or;
2. I could have quickly reviewed it to make sure all of the charges were correct.

If you know me, you know I am always so careful when it comes to spending money. I always have been very organized with my finances. That said, I chose the second option and reviewed my bill to make sure the charges were correct.

As I was going through the itemized bill line-by-line, I caught all of these “$11 soda charges” on my bill! They were “sprinkled” in the bill every other day. First off, I would never spend $11 on soda and second, neither one of us drank soda all week!!

Long story short, I called the front desk and after ten minutes of politely telling them the charges were wrong, they eventually removed the errors.

Had I not been organized and checked my bill, I would have wasted $33 on “soda” I never drank! I don’t know about you but I would rather save $33 or spend it on a casual dinner out with Ed… or maybe even a pedicure or invest it in something that will help me accomplish my goals.

But I definitely wouldn’t throw it out the window…

Anyway, it just goes to show (once again), that being organized saves you money while being disorganized costs you money….

I do the same “finance reconciliation” for my personal and business accounts each month. It doesn’t take too long and the time is does take is definitely worth the price! 🙂

That’s my two cents for the week.