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Scared to Open the Mail?

If you just keep getting bills, reminders and warnings, it's easy to just stop opening your mail. You might, however, end up with a bag full of unopened envelopes and a fear of the Postie, but avoiding things is not a solution.

Here’s a process to tackle a daunting pile and narrow it down to a few key items. It can change your mindset from 'fear' to 'action' and get you on track with resolving your financial worries.

See the immediate actions tips below.

Better Place Australia free financial counselling

Better Place Australia free financial counselling and mediation services are available to people who have money troubles and live in one of the many government funded areas across Victoria. First step is to enquire online or request an appointment.

For more real stories about people with financial troubles and how Better Place Australia financial counsellors mediated for them, go to the Financial First Aid home page and scroll down to Real Stories.

Immediate actions you can take

Open just one letter and throw away the envelope

Unopened mail looks bigger than it is. Half of the paper in the pile is just envelopes so you’ve already reduced the pile of paper!
Repeat step 1 until all envelopes are opened

One envelope at a time. Throw the envelopes. Keep the letters.
Sort mail into small groups

Group by topic or sender: eg credit card / gas bill / loan.
Sort each group by date order

Oldest on bottom and most recent letter on top.
Select only the newest letters

Take the newest letter from each pile, or anything received in the last month, and put these in a folder. You’ll probably find that you’ve received the same letter from the same company several times so just refer to the latest one.
Put aside the older letters

Put all the remaining letters aside in a box. Don’t throw them away just yet. Most will be outdated copies of the newest letters.
Feeling better?

Your handful of newest letters should be far less daunting than dozens of unopened letters.

Next step: search our help topics or contact a Financial counsellor.