Tip #82 Form Frenzy; The Receipt Binder

       There are many circumstances in which people are able to submit medical receipts, and be reimbursed for some, most, or all of the expenses. Whether it's an insurance company you are submitting to, or simply keeping them for tax write offs (or anything in between), it makes sense to keep the receipts as orderly as possible to make sure you're not missing out on getting reimbursed.
     However, when you're very ill and/or your family/caregivers have extra duties on their plates each day, it is easy to say "we'll deal with that later/when you're better/when we have time/when we're not so tired..." The problem is that even with the best intentions, that time never comes all that often, and then it's a big project. Enter the receipt binder...
    The solution is so easy it seems silly to consider it, but it works.

1. Buy a binder and dedicate it only to keeping track of receipts, and buy page protectors (clear plastic sleeves that are hole-punched, and are open at the top). 
2. Label 32 page protectors (one each from #1 to #31 plus a protector labelled "next month")
3. Use a label or tape a piece of paper to the cover of the binder to note the month, and keep the binder in an easy to access location.
4. Let everyone (family, caregivers) know that anything delivered, and or any receipt from something caregivers have picked up for you MUST (pretty please) automatically go into the binder (If they bought it on the 12th, it goes into page protector #12). 
5. Use the extra "next month" page protector to temporarily keep receipts for the first few days of the next month (in case you are not able to do expenses submissions exactly on the last day of the month).
6. If you want to be even more organized, I would suggest that you 
1. Keep labels and a marker (for changing the front cover)  
2. Keep a checklist of what you've submitted and/or how much you've submitted for, and enter the date on which you mailed them.

I think that is it. If you only need to submit annually, then downsizing to 12 protectors (one for each month) is still helpful. 

Happy receipting!