4 of the Best Ways To Spend $150 or Less To Get Your Finances Organized Before Tax Day
Written by
Heather Altamirano
Edited by
Jenna Klaverweiden
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Navigating tax season is overwhelming for many Americans, but it doesn’t have to be. There are several tools and tricks to avoid last-minute chaos. By adopting a few strategic planning practices, you can save time and money.
Getting your finances in order before Tax Day creates an opportunity to increase savings and boost your financial well-being. Why? Disorganization costs money. When you’re searching for receipts stuffed in drawers and rushing to make the deadline, write-offs are often missed.
However, there are simple fixes. Taxes are due by April 15, 2025, and if you haven’t filed yet, there’s still time to prepare and get your documents in order. Here are four ways to get your finances in shape before Tax Day for $150 or less.
Get a Digital Vault
A digital vault allows you to store important documents like birth certificates and tax paperwork into the cloud for safekeeping, and it’s something Peter Diamond, a federally licensed tax, accounting, real estate and structure expert and a Certified Bankability Expert, recommended doing.
“Most people scramble to find receipts, deductions and paperwork when tax day rolls around,” he explained. “That’s how you overpay the IRS and leave money on the table. That’s why you should keep everything in a vault that you can easily access on Tax Day.”
According to Diamond, you can “store your documents in real time as you acquire them, not at the last minute! Then, at tax time, you’ll just have to pull everything out!”
The best part is it doesn’t have to cost you much. According to Pacific Life, digital vaults cost about $4 to $10 per month.
Digitize Your Receipts
To stay organized throughout the year, Shoeboxed is a service that keeps your receipts together so that when you’re ready to file taxes, you’re not looking everywhere for them.
It’s something that Michael Schmied, senior financial analyst at Kredite Schweiz, uses for himself and clients.
“It’s built specifically to organize receipts by digitizing them in bulk. You can mail in your physical receipts using their prepaid envelope. Their team scans them, extracts key data and uploads everything to your online account,” he said. “What I like is that it creates a searchable archive.”
Schmied pointed out the several benefits to Shoeboxed.
- It turns every receipt into structured data you can use. You don’t have to keep folders or worry about faded ink. It tags every expense into tax-related categories automatically.
- There’s a clean audit trail tied to every purchase. That removes friction during both loan applications and tax prep.
- For anyone who needs to stay ready for audits or financial reviews, it’s a fair trade for fewer headaches.
The platform has various pricing plans ranging from $18 to $54 per month.
Hire a Bookkeeping Cleanup Specialist
An easy and effective way to get all your paperwork in order is to hire a bookkeeping cleanup specialist who can get you organized and turn your mess into a system your accountant can work with.
“Too many taxpayers, especially self-employed folks, come into tax season dragging months of neglected bank statements and unlabeled Venmo payments,” said Angelo Crocco, CPA, CGMA, owner of AC Accounting. “My go-to move is to spend $150 to hire a freelance bookkeeper for two hours of pre-tax cleanup. You don’t need year-round service. You need a short, tactical engagement where someone reconciles your bank feeds, flags missing info and organizes your paperwork.”
According to Crocco, this helps you file accurately and prevents you from overpaying because of missed deductions, underreporting and risking penalties if you file late.
“Bookkeepers see patterns you miss and ask proper follow up questions,” he explained. Plus, it could help reduce your CPA bill.
“There are no extra hourly fees for sorting through your chaos. In a world hurtling toward AI-audits and faster IRS flagging systems, clean data isn’t a luxury. It’s your financial armor. Spend the $150. Clean house. Own your numbers,” he said.
Buy a Tax Preparation Software
Tax software can help simplify the tax process. It is accurate, saves time and doesn’t cost a fortune.
“You can get decent software for less than $100, TurboTax or H&R Block will walk you through everything step by step,” said Steven Kibbel, a financial planner, entrepreneur and chief editorial advisor at Gold IRA Companies.
Kibbel also suggested a desktop scanner. “Add on a simple desktop scanner for another $30 to $50, and you can easily archive receipts, donation receipts, medical expenses and whatever else might be valuable further down the road,” he said. “That little setup saves you from missed deductions and speeds up prep if you’re taking it to a CPA.”
No matter how you prepare for taxes, the key is to start early and get a system in place that can save time and money so you’re not missing out on deductions and racing to find your paperwork before Tax Day.
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