Delaying paperwork can burn a hole in your pocket

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While I was about to start writing this blog, it suddenly came to my mind that once a senior colleague took 15 days off just to organise his paperwork. The need to arrange finances was weighing him down and the relief of getting them in order clearly reflected when he rejoined office.

As this financial year comes to an end, I have again started coming across people struggling with their tax-saving documents. They are a harried lot now and they often prefer paying taxes over the task of arranging reimbursements and other bills they had eagerly opted for at the beginning of the year.

Well, the whole exercise is not so complicated as we sometimes make it out to be. A few small steps right at the beginning can save us from the last-minute troubles. For instance, we often don’t pay any heed to tax-related email reminders, thinking we will be able to get them in order before the deadline. But most of us fail to do so miserably.

Next time, to make things simpler, just make an effort to read that HR mail with patience so that you know beforehand what all is needed.

Since it is quite a task to arrange everything on one single day, we can spread it out over a week and you will be surprised to find how much less effort and time it takes.

Similarly, name mismatching is something I have seen a lot. It is difficult for me to understand why people are so careless when it comes to writing their own name on important documents. You can have your fancy and creative names for social media handles but it is advisable to follow one style which should be followed everywhere.

It is time we take financial paperwork seriously and not blame the system and people around for those avoidable procedural hurdles. As the new financial year starts, let us take a resolution to arrange our documents be it relating to your investments or important documents like school certificates, Aadhaar or PAN card.