I love the sacred pause that occurs as one year ends and another begins. Like the space between the in-breath and the out-breath, it feels like fresh energy flows in just as the stale energy leaves. 

To make the most of this precious time, I like to wrap up all my unfinished business beforehand. That way I don’t drag it into the new year and clutter it up before it begins. 

Money Clutter

Care to join me? I’m a fan of cleaning up money clutter first. You’ll know you have some if there are money issues you avoid, such as:

• Raising your fees
• Looking at your bank balance 
• Socking away money for taxes
• Getting past-due invoices paid 
• Having uncomfortable money conversations

That kind of avoidance is a telltale sign you’ve got money clutter you need to clear up. If you don’t? It doesn’t go away. Instead it continues to build under the surface until it spills out in money drama like late fees, bounced checks, higher interest rates, lower credit scores, and painful money arguments. 

To clear the decks for 2020, start with these 5 simple steps: 

Step 1: Call In Your Outstanding Money

Make a list of every person or company that owes you money. Some will be obvious, like unpaid client invoices. Others may be subtle, like rebates you applied for but never received. Or refunds that didn’t show up on your statement. 

 Once you know where your money is, reach out and let everyone know it’s time to wrap up your year-end issues. You don’t want your money floating around outside of your grasp, right? It should be snuggled up safe and sound in your bank account where it belongs. 

Step 2: Spend Your Gift Cards and Certificates

Look around your home, your treatment room, your closet, your car, and gather up all those gift cards or certificates you’ve been stockpiling for a rainy day. It’s time to make it rain, my friend. Spend them all within the next seven days. 

What should you spend them on? Whatever brings you pleasure. You probably got some of them as gifts. So enjoy them in the spirit in which they were given. 

And if you find yourself holding onto them, that usually comes from a hidden fear that you’ll never get that money back. Unfortunately, that same fear blocks new money from flowing in the same way a clenched fist can’t receive. So out with the old money and in with the new. Let that money circulate!

Step 3: Gather Up Your Loose Change and Spend That, Too

When is the last time you looked between your couch cushions? If you’ve avoided that, too, you might be surprised at what you find. Become a detective and hunt down your loose change. Check that couch, your car, old purses, your junk drawer. Then spend it. And if you think it’s too little to matter? Remember this: It adds up. And it all counts. 

Step 4: Get All Your Bills in One Place

Are your monthly bills piling up on your desk? Your kitchen counter? The dining room table? The nightstand? That not only adds to the clutter — it increases the risk that you’ll forget to pay them on time. 

Even if you don’t forget, think about what happens energetically every time you walk by a stack of bills and think, “I have to remember to pay that.” Those little details pile up in your head until they spill out of your ears. (Alright, alright. Not literally. But it sure feels that way.) 

So grab a folder and label it “Bills to Pay.” That’s your new uncluttered home for all your unpaid bills. 

Step 5: Select Your Money Days

Do you pay your bills at different times of the month? That’s one more way you inadvertently create money drama and chaos. Because even if your bills are all in one place, you still have to spend your hard-earned time trying to remember who to pay and when. 

Instead, select the days you want to pay your bills every month — and mark them on your calendar for all of 2020. It could be once a month. It could be twice. It could even be once a week. It’s not the frequency but the consistency that matters. Then once your money day rolls around, grab that bill folder and you’re ready to go. 

So, ready to jump on the bandwagon with me and clear your money clutter? Let’s create space for more money to flow in throughout the coming year. 

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