I suppose there are people to whom organization comes easily and naturally, but I am not one of them. For me, it's a struggle, and I continually remind myself of the payoff: stuff that is organized is easy to find, easy to work with, and unlikely to be in the "lost" or "forgotten" category.

As with bills. There have been occasions in the past when I paid bills late, not because I didn't have the funds, but I had forgotten they were due--and couldn't find the paperwork. Credit card companies have big-time penalties for people like me.

So I have made myself a ledger, with the accounts written down the lefthand side, the first column the date of the month payment is due,

[brief interruption while I teach A how to change the orientation of a cell's contents in Excel]

and along the top, each column named by month. With no legerdemain at all, presto, change-o, she is organized.

About time, too, since retirement is going to mean closer management of money in, money out. The old casual approach won't do.

See? You *can* teach an old dog new tricks.