Chances are that organizing your finances probably doesn’t rank at the top of your list of awesome ways to spend an afternoon.
But this to-do is just as important—if not more so—than cleaning out your closet or tidying up the garage. And, at some point, we all just need to buckle down and tackle it.
Here is a simple two-step approach to organizing your financial documents.
Keep Track of Electronic Accounts
Organize your electronic passwords. You can do this with the Electronic Accounts Recorder. This handy tool is available through the Women’s Money mentoring program or in your Women’s Money Guidebook.
Create a One Sheet “Map” of Important Documents
Use a Vital Documents Inventory to keep track of documents like:
- passports,
- birth certificates,
- stock certificates,
- social security card,
- immunization records, etc.
The Vital Documents Inventory Sheet is also another handy tool available for free through the Women’s Money Mentoring program or in your Women’s Money Guidebook.
The Vital Documents Inventory and the Electronic Accounts Recorder give you a “cheat sheet” where to find your most important information. Surprisingly, people just assume they put documents and other information in the right place only to find out (after hours or days of looking) that it’s actually stored in “another safe place”.
This is also a really good way to keep your whole family in the know of where to find the important documents needed without sifting through files and piles.
