Brain Fog & Financial Management

OMG, I feel like such an idiot !

My husband & run a small business. I am in charge of all the bookkeeping and the finances for both the business and our personal funds.
I have been in a "fog" for the past few weeks, I havent been entirely honest with my husband about the extent of it. I have told him that I just feel "off / out of touch" Well, today I realized that I didnt pay to of our business bills that were due 2 days ago. I dont even want to tell my husband :-(

How are we ever to keep up with everything that is thrown at us????

Anybody have any tips or tricks to help remember things? I already have a med helper app on my phone that reminds me what pills I have to take 3 times a day... but to be honest, that thing going off is really starting to annoy me. The alarm sounds & Im like, " really, I just took my meds" and its already time to take more.

I try and pay my bills as soon as I get them other wise I for get them. I used to try and pay my bills on a set day of the month but started forgetting it. Now I set my phone with a reminder for the last day of the month to check and make sure I paid them all. I tried setting them up to come out of my bank account but that did not work well for me,

I rely on organizers. Try to google “bill organizers”. They have some really nice ones that have a slot for every day of the month that a bill is due. As for my pills, I use the pill organizer box then stay consistent in times that I take the medication. So if you have to take something 3 times a day, maybe take them at 9am, 3pm and 9pm. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes I forget things myself every once in a while so for things that I don’t have to do everyday, I put a reminder on my phone or on my Outlook calendar. I work at a desk job, so I also use a lot of Post-It noted to remind me. Hope this all helps!

I use a reminder sheet when all of our bills are due each month. I have it on Word and change the amounts or due date if it changes each month. Where we used to live sometimes we wouldn't get bills delivered for whatever reason so that helped me to investigate and get the bills paid on time no matter what, When I managed a business I used a tickler file and filed it by date due or you could file it by the date to pay the bills on. Good luck!

I feel for you, but don't have the answer I am afraid. I run a dog rescue org and the number of things I have completely dismissed of late is astounding! I have always been so efficient, and yet now I feel exactly as you do, which is not only disheartening but also so frustrating. In my case I am obviously going to have to hand on some of my responsibilities to the VP as this is beyond a joke, and most unprofessional. I will let you know if I come across any tricks to help, but for now I will follow your thread with great interest.

Cheers Amanda

When I have space in my file folder system, I have 12 hanging folders 1 for each month. Then I have folders numbered 1 to 31 for the days of the month. Put the months in order, and the day file right behind the month. Right now, when I open the drawer I'll see August , and right behind it is "23" with remaining days behind. Behind 31 will be September, and then "1" and so on. Tomorrow I will move 23 to the end of September and I keep a perpetual calendar going this way.

As you get the bill, put it in the folder by its due date. (Adjust the due date if you mail the bills) Let this system do the work for you.

This helped me keep track of my to dos and projects I was working on. If you use the system, it frees your mind up. Good Luck : )

Brain fog happens and it is not a nice feeling. when I was getting "foggy" , it turned out that my B12 level was very low. B12 helps with the nerve synapses. I don't know what meds you are on, but it could also be a side effect. if it gets worse , or doesn't improve, you need to see someone about it. I had an MRI done , etc.

Call the billing companies of the ones that you missed, they will almost always wave a late payment fee, especially if it hasn't happened routinely. good luck.

On line management , all in the same place . like your banks on line bill payment. you can set it up to automatically pay your bills, or send you a reminder for when they are due. good luck.

Thanks everybody for the ideas. I appreciate it.

I currently due have all my bills in a dated file system, Ive done it that way for years and have been quite efficient with it. My problem was, I just didnt look at the books for 2 days. I mostly sleep for 2 days which is the usual after I work my live in 2 1/2 day shift. Before going to work, I knew they were coming up due but figured I'd take care of it when I returned from work. Then I just sleep & spaced out about it.

Now Im off to work again....., I really hope I can focus on my job & not forget anything. I HAVE to continue working, if not for the $ but for the health insurance benefits. :-/

Flutter,

Be honest with your husband. Your business and personal credit rely too much on payment history. 2 days is not usually reported (my last job was in Credit Restoration, my own business). I could no longer maintain my best services for my clients and had to shut down my business.

It started affecting my home bills as well, and although it's not something my husband wanted to take on, it's something that it too important to "hope" you remember.

I hate to be so blunt, but it's an important issue. The first and best thing I would suggest would be to put as many items as you can on auto-pay. Most banks allow you to set up payment dates, so they don't have to come out on the same day received.

That saved my butt more than once.

I think we all find different ways to compensate, but just my advice...be honest about your foggy days with your husband. If he knows that you are struggling with it on a certain day, I am sure he would rather know than have it affect you guys negatively.

Good luck, sweetie,

DeAnne