Article - Get A Better Look At Your Bills!

Staying on top of household bills and other paperwork is a must in every household. Some people do this with paper and pen, some with the telephone. Others utilize computers to help them maintain their financial information. Most people do not enjoy this task, but it becomes particularly unpleasant if you have vision problems. Simply writing a check and entering the amount in a check register can become overwhelming.

Any changes in vision, according to the National Eye Institute, may indicate early onset of eye disease. If you have difficulty doing "up close" tasks like reading or paying bills, even while wearing your glasses or contacts, you should consult an eye doctor.

There are other things to consider when you are trying to improve your visual outlook. The staff at Dynamic-Living.com has researched some of the best practices for handling paperwork and offers the following tips and product suggestions to make it easier:

Make it visually comfortable:

• Task lighting is as important as magnification in achieving a good viewing situation. You don't expect to be able to see in the dark, but many of us do not use enough lighting in our work area to be able to approach our paperwork. Your ability to decipher what you see improves when the appropriate amount of light is available.

• Writing guides help maintain alignment and proper spacing when writing a letter, signing a check or addressing an envelope.

• Page Pals are uniquely designed gadgets that will hold up to 20 pages of any sized paper, with no need for clips or elastics. The Page Pal holds your documents at a slight angle for easy reading, freeing up your hands for other tasks.

• Book stands hold your reading material at the desired angle to avoid glare, shadows, neck strain or eye strain.

Make it BIGGER:

• Keyboards are available with oversized characters. A Big Print Keyboard has bold, large print keys with black letters on a beige background, making it much easier to see and type. As an alternative to buying a new keyboard, you can convert your existing computer keyboard with big print and Braille label stickers offering large, bold, high contrast or tactile letters and numbers.

• Big Print Check Register has large letters, numbers and entry boxes so it is easier to see and record your transactions.

• Big Print Address Book has wide spaced lines to provide ample room for large writing and easy reading.

• Magnifiers help with reading, bills and any close work. They come in a variety of magnifications, styles and sizes.

• Reading and Computer glasses offer style and affordability with non-prescription magnification. These glasses are available in several diopters (lens strength / magnification).

• Pen size markers allow broader strokes for writing that is easier to see.

• Telephones with big numbers oversized keys and speed dial buttons help make dialing much easier when you have low vision.

Make it talk:

• Voice dialers store 40 to 50 names. Simply pick up the phone, say the name and the Voice Dialer speed dials the numbers at your voice command.

• Talking Calculators announce what keys you have pressed and reports the results.

• Talking clocks and watches announce the time by a simple press of a button or report the time on an hourly basis.

Make it easy to find:

• When your vision is impaired, being organized has even more importance. You want to streamline the tasks as much as possible and make the statements and other paperwork easy to find. Organize the task into groups that make sense and then store the paperwork into color coded folders. For example, you may want to use blue folders with pockets to collect unpaid household bills and yellow folders with pockets for medical expenses. As each bill is paid, staple any relevant paperwork together and file it into the same color tabbed folder. Keep the pocket folders handy for new bills and file the tabbed folders in a desk drawer, filing cabinet or a box in the closet. The colors will help you locate the group of bills again next month.

• Desktop organizers, available in any office supply store, are terrific for keeping note pads, pens and paperclips at hand.

• Bulletin boards, white boards or cork strips are great for keeping important phone numbers, account numbers and calendars handy.

We all have paperwork to do. Most of us would like to get through it as quickly as possible. Having the right tools available will make these tasks much easier. You may even begin to look forward to tackling that pile of paper!

© Copyright 2003 Dynamic Living, Inc.
Dynamic Living Newsletter may only be redistributed in its unedited form. Written permission from the editor must be obtained to reprint or cite the information contained within this newsletter.

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