While bank statements, invoices and other emails may make you automatically bring your precious dollars to mind and help you to stay on track, other financial-related emails indirectly affect your bottom line just as much but they tend to go overlooked. If you choose to keep ignoring them, you might be making a money mistake.
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Not keeping tabs on your tabs.
Like many people, I have a Gmail account. Sometimes I find emails in other tabs when I originally reached out to someone through my primary email. I recently had a major magazine request a quote from me. I don’t remember exactly why this happened but although I emailed through my primary tab, the reply came back but landed in a different tab. Honestly, I don’t usually check other tabs daily. I didn’t get back to the person until 5 days later! Luckily, they emailed on a Friday so it didn’t seem so bad to answer on a Tuesday, but I wanted to make sure that never happened again.
Decide how often to check tabs or folders depending on the email you use. After scanning for important information, take time to trash true spam, ditch anything you know you won’t read and keep an eye out for important emails that could have ended up in the wrong place. Also, the next time you loop back, if something is lost, it will be easier to find if you maintain what’s in there and reduce email in general by unsubscribing to too many newsletters or deals. Staying on top of your email like this can also free up time to find more clients, allow you to follow up on overdue invoices or make your own marketing emails more appealing to customers.
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Check in on other categories of email.
Some people never check their folders or other tabs. This can be a money mistake; you can miss out on some money making opportunities of career advancement. Periodically scan through the tabs or folders, like spam or junk. This is to make sure important emails don’t slip through the cracks and end up as lost money making opportunities. Get in the habit of checking there when an email you’re waiting on hasn’t arrived. You don’t want a precious client or an important financial document to get lost. You also don’t want to mistakenly click on the wrong email because the document you want is sandwiched between a potential virus and wire transfer scam. If you do spot an important email there, maybe type the title of the email into the search of your inbox so you won’t potentially click on the wrong email
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Being overly notified.
Never setting up filters or separating tabs can quickly turn your inbox into a mess. It can also sabotage your workflow if they hit your phone too much. It’s great to be updated on important matters that might need immediate attention. However, being updated for every little thing can erode your productivity and overall focus.
Keep interruptions to a minimum by using email to your advantage. I’m a big fangirl of Gmail. Promotions can be easily separated from my primary email. This works out well because I only like getting certain emails sent to my phone. Gmail gives you the option to select what you want sent to your phone when you install their email app. Select “all email”, “primary only” or “none” in settings. What makes it to your phone is up to you. Check the settings on your phone app (if applicable). Decide the best way to set up your email to organize what goes where and what’s allowed to reach your phone.
The Bottom Line
While some financial emails are easier to keep on your radar, others less obvious ones can leak money out of your pocket. Stay on top of your email so they don’t go unnoticed. You can also take advantage of financial opportunities they may present. Try using the tips mentioned above to do so.
