For the next three weeks, I’ll be joining you on this journey. Here’s what we’ll be doing:
Week 1: Assess the Mess. The first week, you’ll spend time evaluating your space and financial situation.
• Your financial house: You’ll take stock of your finances by organizing your paperwork and creating a net worth statement.
Your net worth statement is a way to assess where you are financially. How can you know where you want to go if you don’t know where you stand?
• Your real house: Walk around your home and take note of the clutter. Literally take notes. With a critical eye, look at and inside drawers, closets, cabinets, shelves, etc. Focus on the messiest areas. Narrow down which areas you want to target during this challenge. You only have three weeks, so you may not get to every area.
• Social media/online tools: Here’s a link for a net worth statement you can download and fill out: http://wapo.st/2iUuUZp.
I’ll be doing a live online chat at noon Eastern on Thursday at washingtonpost.com/discussions. Also check out my Facebook page (facebook.com/MichelleSingletary) throughout the challenge for videos of my own decluttering battles and for encouraging messages. You can also follow me on Twitter (@SingletaryM) to ask questions as we go along.
Week 2: Reduce Redundancy. Time to get rid of whatever is superfluous.
• Your financial house: You’ll spend this week getting rid of credit cards you don’t need. You’ll pull the statements for all your cards to figure out which ones you use the most. You’ll compare fees to learn what you really get out of the cards and which ones you don’t really need. You won’t be canceling them yet — just putting them away. You’ll also look at your bank and credit union accounts. Do you have too many? Are you paying too much in bank fees for multiple accounts?
You’ll shed the financial documents you no longer need. I’ll walk you through which documents you should keep, and for how long.
• Your real house: You’ll be tackling the areas you identified during your assessment. Which drawers or cabinets do you spend the most time in trying to find stuff?
Social media/online tools: I’ll be doing another online chat at noon Eastern on Jan. 19 at washingtonpost.com/discussions.
Week 3: Lighten your load. This is when things get tough.
• Your financial house: You will create a plan to pay off your debt. I call it the “Debt Dash.” I’ll show you how to list your debts from smallest to largest. Follow the Debt Dash process to devise a plan to be debt-free.
• Your real house: Are there things you can sell to raise money to reduce your debt? What can you give away and possibly get a tax break, assuming you itemize on your tax return? The point is to look at the big things you can clear out.
• Social media/online tools: I’ll be doing a Twitter chat Jan. 23 to wrap up the challenge.
The Color of Money challenge doesn’t stop after the 21 days. The aim is to kick start what I hope will be a lifetime mission of #NoDebtNoMess.
Michelle Singletary welcomes comments and column ideas. Reach her in care of The Washington Post, 1150 15th St. N.W., Washington, DC 20071; or singletarym@washpost.com.
