When clients contact me for help with managing papers, I always ask them, “Do you have a file cabinet?” The answer almost always is, “Yes, but it’s full.” Usually their file cabinet is full with outdated papers that haven’t been reviewed in a long time. One of the first things I’ll do when I work with these clients is go through the old files and get rid of anything that is no longer relevant. Going through old papers is time-consuming, but it’s…
Read more →A few days ago, I found three identical envelopes in my mailbox from my bank. They were business credit card offers, and they were address to each member of my family: me, my husband, and my daughter. In an effort to stop these annoying offers from coming, I called the toll free number listed on the application and told the representative that I wanted to opt out. She gave me another number which turned out to be the customer service…
Read more →When my father passed away last year and we shut down his apartment, I submitted a forwarding order to the post office so that mail coming to anyone named Lowenheim at that address would be forwarded to me. I’ve since learned that the Postal Service makes about $8 million a year licensing its change of address data. Not only am I getting marketing solicitations for my father, I am also receiving junk mail for my mother, who passed away 4 1/2 years…
Read more →One of my daily pleasures is doing the crossword puzzle in the New York Times. In yesterday’s puzzle, the clue for 9-down was “Things meant to be used and then thrown away.” I knew the answer right away: ephemera. I use this word frequently with my clients because I want to help them decide which paper items they should save and which they should let go. Dictionary.com further defines ephemera as “items designed to be useful or important for only a short time, especially…
Read more →The first time I experienced credit card fraud was in 1982. I opened my bill to discover that I had charged $1,100 at Pit Number One in Atlantic City. The trouble is that I had never been to Atlantic City. This was back in the days before the Internet (yes, children, there was such a time) and way before we did on-line shopping. Maybe that’s why I’m not fearful about using my credit card number on-line. I know that these kinds…
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