I live in LA – the land of people posing as far better off financially than they really are. How often do you wonder how well off someone truly is? If you’re like me, pretty often.

We make inferences based on someone’s:

• Clothes, shoes & accessories
• Car
• House
• Social media pics
• Travel

Spoiler: these things don’t reveal the truth about someone’s finances. Not by a longshot. These “clues” can be quite deceptive. Maybe you’ve heard this before but without any alternative data points, we’re stuck with these hints.

Even income is a poor indicator of someone’s financial health.

I have been tasked with pre-approving a number of very high earning individuals (some of whom already owned homes and investment properties) only to find that their finances were mess —  high credit card balances, late payments, accounts in collections. A terrible trifecta!

On the other hand, I’ve encountered many “modest” earners who turned out to be impressive financial powerhouses. Heck yes!

You probably don’t spend hours poring through tax returns and bank statements like I do, so how can you tell if someone is living a financial lie?

Here’s what I’ve found is the one dead giveaway that reveals if someone is doing as well as it appears: how organized their mail is.

Their what?!

Yep, their mail. Physical and e-mail. The stuff in their mailbox and inbox.

Is there a giant pile spilling across a desk of opened envelopes with the papers shoved back inside? Maybe not even opened at all?

Perhaps they’re “fully digital.” In my experience that’s code for, “I don’t look at my bills and I have no idea what’s going on with my money.”

Or they’re on auto-pay so they also never look at their mail. I’ve never seen that approach work out well. It’s missed payments and late fees galore. You don’t realize that the letters you keep getting are trying to tell you that your credit card expired and you haven’t paid your electricity bill in six months.

If you’re not privy to see someone’s mail situation with your own eyes, ask them, “how do you keep your mail and bills organized?” If they break down their whole system of how it moves into and out of their space, then they’re probably financially well off. If they say, “ugh, don’t ask – it’s a total mess,” that’s your best tell-tale sign that their money is too.

More important than giving you insight into other people’s money, this can help you figure out where to focus your efforts for your own financial fitness. If you’re not where you want to be financially, this is a no-brainer place to start. It costs you nothing! The time you invest in setting up and maintaining a process for handling your mail (and bills) will pay off in less stress and time lost spent searching through piles while frantically pulling out your hair in frustration.

How well does my theory play out in your life and for the people you know?