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Kalyn Brooke

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How to Easily Organize Your Receipts for the Entire Year

July 7 // 12 Comments // 4 Minute Read

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No more wondering how to keep track of receipts! You’ll find everything quickly and easily with this simple three step system to process every purchase from start to finish.

This post may contain affiliate links. Read my full disclosure policy here.

This is EXACTLY the receipt organization system I've been looking for! Simple yet detailed. This is going to help me not only to keep track of my spending or find receipts for the things I have to return, but I'll also have all my expenses meticulously organized come tax time! #organizedreciepts #organizepaperwork #receipts

They’re EVERYWHERE.

Crinkled in the bottom of my purse, wadded up in Joseph’s pockets, ribbons of long, flimsy paper—usually from CVS—strewn across the countertops, and {oops!} sometimes left in a wadded up grocery bag that was tossed away.

In a way, receipts are essential, because they are a physical record of our spending. And if you’re a savvy budgeter, you’ll want to keep track of every receipt so you don’t spend more than you earn. But they’re also a huge paper-clutter pain.

Before my receipt organization system, this is how I organized my receipts:

Using labeled junk envelopes, this “system” was certainly cheap enough. But ugly too. It wasn’t really a system because it consisted of one step: file receipt in an envelope when finished. Not. That. Organized.

Now, in my new and improved receipt organization system, every {and I do mean every!} receipt goes through a 3-step process that ensures I keep every receipt neat and tidy in case of future returns and in preparation for tax time.

If you adopt and customize these three steps in your home, you’ll be able to find any receipt you need easily!

Your Handy Cheat Sheet

Keep your documents in order with this easy-to-use tax prep checklist!

1. Establish a Holding Station for Receipts

To eliminate wads of receipts strewn everywhere, designate a Receipt Jar where everyone can put receipts the minute they walk in the door. I bought this cute little jar at Hobby Lobby, but you could also pick up any clear jar and add a chalkboard label yourself.

My decluttering/organizing motto is every item should have a place. Generally, if papers are piling up on the counter, it’s because you don’t know where to put them. So, find a spot, and see just how easy things are to put away!

2. Process Receipts Each Week

Whether you use a budgeting app, an excel spreadsheet, or old-fashioned pen and paper, it’s a good idea to set aside at least 30 minutes on the same day each week to go through the receipts you collected, record, and categorize them.

For me, this happens every Friday.

I pull out all the receipts from the Receipt Jar, and I add them to my expense spreadsheet under the proper category. If it’s a grocery or gas receipt—generally something I won’t need to reference later—I just throw the receipt away. {After checking Ibotta, of course! Haven’t heard of Ibotta? Check out my Ibotta app review.}

For all remaining receipts, I file them away in their proper place. More on that next…

3. Create a Filing System

I generally see three types of receipts come into our household—personal, business, and charity. Each of those three categories has a different filing system.

For personal receipts, I use a small expandable file {I found mine at Office Depot for $2!} organized by month. I don’t keep that many receipts, so it’s nice to have something that’s isn’t bulky, as well as long enough for receipts to fit in nicely rather than folded three to four times.

At the beginning of each new month, I remove last year’s receipts and throw them away because I know I won’t be able to return whatever item was on the receipt I saved from a year ago.

If you don’t want to organize your receipts by month, you could try one of these options:

  • Organize by category of expense {this could get tricky if you shop at Target and have clothing purchases mixed in with your groceries}
  • Organize by type of payment—debit, credit, cash, check

FYI: I saw these cute file labels on clearance at Michaels for $1 and couldn’t resist grabbing them for this project! You can also create your own labels via a label maker and add a strip of washi tape behind them for extra color.

For business receipts, I’ll snap a photo with the Evernote app {which scans the receipt into a specific folder} so my bookkeeper—AKA my mom— can put the information in the appropriate Quickbooks account. Then I trash the receipt since I already have a digital copy.

For charity receipts, items I’ve donated to Goodwill or things I’ve bought for the animal rescue I work with, I have a designated envelope with a printable that explains what the item was for and how much I spent/donated. That way, I can total the amounts up at the end of the year and give that info to my CPA for our tax return.

Psst… download The Ultimate Tax Prep Checklist so you know what other documents to keep handy!

Note: For any receipts that come through via email {for Amazon, etc}, I record those the same as I would a regular receipt each Friday on my expense spreadsheet, then I archive it. I don’t bother printing out the email because if I need to reference the purchase, I can quickly search Gmail to find it.

Lastly, all file folders are kept right inside my finance notebook so I have everything I need for those Friday finance meetings. It’s so handy to have it all in one place!

There are plenty of different ways to organize receipts—this is just a peek into my three-step system—but I hope you’ve found it helpful as you figure out what to do with your own paper pile. For me, this has been a clutter-saving sanity saver! 

No longer do I have receipts wandering aimlessly across the countertops. Now I know exactly how to process a receipt from start to finish without hanging onto a bunch of unnecessary paperwork.

Plus, I can find what I need when I need it, instead of searching through my wallet or purse…or even worse, hope it hasn’t gone through the wash in somebody’s pocket. 🙂

Let’s chat about receipt organization:

Do you have a different system? What receipts do you save/toss?

Disclosure: Some of the links in the post above are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Rest assured, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. Read my full disclosure policy here.

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Comments

  1. Liz Teaches says

    February 13 at 11:13 am

    I liked the use of file manager. I think incorporating the use of filing system is so helpful to keep track of recipes and would save a lot of time and decent amount of money too.

    Reply
    • Kalyn Brooke says

      February 13 at 12:22 pm

      Systems are the best! 🙂 It’s all about finding the perfect one for you!

      Reply
  2. Lauren Lanker says

    February 18 at 11:14 pm

    Ooo! I love seeing other people’s systems…yours involves so many pretty items! (A MUST for things like receipts that can be otherwise boring.) I’ve been using the Expense Tracker app for my biz receipts. I enter each expense by category as it comes up, snap a photo of the digital or paper receipt, and discard paper receipts after that! Easy peasy.

    Reply
    • Kalyn Brooke says

      February 19 at 12:17 pm

      One of the best things about about apps is how they can kill the paper clutter! Remembering to do it…

      Reply
  3. Amphasis says

    June 2 at 1:04 pm

    For me I would just take a photo of the receipts using my mobile phone and save it in a monthly expense folder.

    Reply
    • Kalyn Brooke says

      June 4 at 2:32 pm

      That’s great!

      Reply
  4. Lilla Tischler says

    June 20 at 7:51 pm

    I have been reading and appreciate the information you are providing about receipts, budgeting, and tracking finances. I was wondering if you had any suggestions for tracking medical bills that have been paid by an insurance company and now you need to pay the remaining amount. Information that can be tracked with co-pays and deductibles. Thank you.

    Reply
    • Kalyn Brooke says

      June 24 at 11:03 pm

      Hi Lilla,

      That’s a really good idea. I don’t currently have a system in place for this beyond my current expense tracker. I do keep a column on my personal finances spreadsheet that keeps track of all my medical expenses, but it’s currently nothing more than a spreadsheet column. It does the trick though at giving me a record of each medical transaction.

      For keeping track of deductibles I keep all my detailed bills filed because if I have to dispute anything I’ll need to have access to them anyway.

      Reply

Trackbacks

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    January 3 at 5:14 pm

    […] Source: Kalyn Brooke […]

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  2. 13 Ridiculously Smart Home Office Desk Organization Ideas - Live Better Lifestyle says:
    June 19 at 9:17 am

    […] really love the idea from Kalyn Brooke on organizing receipts. You can use a jar and label it with washi tape for a specific use such as […]

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  3. Here's Exactly How Long You Should Keep Receipts, According to Experts – MONEY | dz4club says:
    August 6 at 9:34 am

    […] management expert Kalyn Brooke has a different system. As detailed in this blog post, she keeps a jar near the door for receipts “so they’re not crammed into purses and wallets.” […]

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  4. 50 Dollar Store Office Organization Ideas - Prudent Penny Pincher says:
    January 15 at 9:56 am

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Hi, I’m Kalyn—a recovering perfectionist who nerds out about organizing systems, personal productivity, and helping you prioritize what matters over the pressure to do it all. I have a feeling we’re about to become the best of friends! Learn more >>

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👩‍💻 | I help value-driven women lead manageable + meaningful lives.
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I wrote this in my journal the other day: 📓⁣

I wrote this in my journal the other day: 📓⁣ ⁣ “I’ve been thinking about what tech boundaries I want to instill, including boundaries related to work and productivity. I’ve become less careful about my media consumption, and it’s having a negative affect on my mental health.” 💞⁣ ⁣ Have you ever felt a similar tug? ⁣ ⁣ I can’t begin to tell you how many times I pick up my phone because I’m bored or lonely or jealous or unhappy. It almost always makes me feel worse. And yet...I struggle to stop. 😝⁣ ⁣ Here are the ideas I’ve been trying this month and I’m already seeing a positive effect:⁣ ⁣ ➕ No logging into social media after 8pm. I need to wind down for the night, not get lost in my phone! 📲⁣ ➕ Open Instagram with a purpose—either to post or to interact. Stop endlessly scrolling.⁣ ➕ My only screen time before 9am should be for Bible Study apps or News. 🗞⁣ ➕ Turn my phone on Do Not Disturb during Tiger Time (when I need the most focus for work) 💪⁣ ➕ Work no more than 4 hours on my business per day. If a task isn’t complete, push it to the next day. This time frame has really helped me prioritize! 💻⁣ ➕ Watch one show per day (or two if they are short!) and leave movies for the weekend. 📺⁣ ⁣ What tech boundaries have you set up? Are any new as of this year? I’d love to hear your ideas! 😃

What’s one thing you budget for that other peopl
What’s one thing you budget for that other people might not? I always find those interesting. 😃⁣ ⁣ You might have a mortgage. I budget for campgrounds. You might want a separate clothing budget, while I’m fine combining it under “Beauty and Style.” Recently, we also added a new line item for our motorcycle—something I NEVER thought would appear in our budget. ⁣ ⁣ See, we’re all different! ⁣ ⁣ Recently, I rearranged my budget categories and created this “cheat sheet.” Sometimes I forget where things go, like picking up new wall art for the living room. Does this item belong in the categories of Household Items or Home Maintenance? 🤔⁣ ⁣ Now I know! And I save time processing receipts each Friday. 🧾⁣ ⁣ What budgeting categories do you use? Share one of your random budget line items with me in the comments below! 😃

I call 2020 the Year of Abandoned Books. ⁣
⁣
I

I call 2020 the Year of Abandoned Books. ⁣ ⁣ I’m never afraid to stop reading a book if it doesn’t live up to the hype. Why invest more time in a book I’m not all that excited about when I could be exploring new authors and storylines where I can’t wait to turn the page? 🤷⁣ ⁣ But in 2020, I let more books go than I normally do. I suppose my patience dwindled when I thought the world was ending. Not that I thought the world was actually ending…but you know what I mean. 😉⁣ ⁣ As an Enneagram 1, I hate giving up on a book. I’m prone to the all-or-nothing mentality, even in my reading habits. My eyes could glaze over boring prose and I’d still repeat to myself: “You MUST finish this book!” 😫⁣ ⁣ Why? ⁣ ⁣ No one is adding a plastic star to your Book-It pin, (Remember those?) This isn’t assigned reading from your high school English class. This is YOUR reading life. ⁣ ⁣ And YOU should choose what books deserve your attention. 📚⁣ ⁣ There are too many good ones out there anyway. Like one of my favorite reads from 2020. 😍⁣ ⁣ This week’s newest blog post rounds up everything I read last year (43 books total!) including 5-star psychological thrillers, a delightful royal series, a couple self-help books, and of course, historical fiction.⁣ ⁣ Click the link in my bio to read it! ☝⁣ ⁣ What were your favorite books in 2020? Our literary styles might be a match made in heaven! ✨

My planner/journal lineup for 2021. 👆 ⁣
⁣
T

My planner/journal lineup for 2021. 👆 ⁣ ⁣ These small but mighty sidekicks will be my saving grace this year. 📚⁣ ⁣ 1️⃣ Bullet Journal (Blue) - for everyday planning and goal setting⁣ 2️⃣ Regular Journal (Yellow) - to track gratitude (5 things a day!) and to process ALL the feelings⁣ 3️⃣ Growth Journal (Sand) - a space for me to brain dump everything I learn from books, podcasts, sermons, etc ⁣ ⁣ That last one is new to me as of this year and I can't wait to flip back through all my notes come December! 📆⁣ ⁣ What planners/journals are you using for 2021?

Self-care is just as important as making your famo
Self-care is just as important as making your famous sugar cookies this holiday season. 🍪⁣ ⁣ Because let’s be real. ⁣ ⁣ That Hallmark-esque Christmas magic disappears the moment disagreeable family members annoy you. Or when you feel irritable over too many late nights and little-to-no sleep. Or when expectations over meals and traditions and social activities fall short and leave you feeling disappointed. 😬⁣ ⁣ But instead of dwelling on these stressful moments and using them as an excuse to completely disconnect from reality (as I’m often tempted to do!), view them as an opportunity for you to respond with poise. 💞⁣ ⁣ ➕ Journal your feelings. ⁣ ➕ Go for a walk. ⁣ ➕ Prioritize what’s essential. ⁣ ➕ Remember to breathe.⁣ ➕ And try not to eat your feelings…okay?⁣ ⁣ Here’s your permission slip if you need one: You don’t need to do or participate in everything! Take a time out when you need it. 🙌⁣ ⁣ That’s the best way you can protect your emotional well-being over the next few days.⁣ ⁣ Merry Christmas, friends! 🎄


I know you’re ready for this year to be over. 🙋‍♀️ The last twelve months brought so many hard things into our lives—relationships were lost, our country became more broken and divided than ever, and oh yeah, we walked through a pandemic too. 🦠 🤯 No biggie, right? Ha! 😅 And while it’s easy to look back and wish we could skip 2020 altogether (or at least insist on a do-over), I don’t want this year to be the one where the hard overcame the good. 💕 Just as hard days don’t mean ruined days, hard years don’t mean ruined years. 2020 can still be good. 💪 For me, I want to remember the fun and exciting things we did. The adventures we had. The new shows we watched, and the books we read. The new life hacks and things I discovered that made my life easier or just brought me joy. 💞 You’ll find it all in my latest blog post (link in profile). If you still need to buy a gift for a loved one (or for yourself!), you’ll find plenty of fun and affordable ideas to fill up the rest of your gifting list. 📦 Otherwise, enjoy a stroll down the good side of 2020’s memory lane and leave your favorite things in the comments so I can try them. 👋


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