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Personal: Own Documents

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Photograph Credit: Microsoft Images

Having completed the fifth file slot in Box 1 of the accordion filing system, let’s proceed to the sixth file opening under the second category of Personal documents. (Are you following my organizational system? To help those of you who are visual learners, like me, a pictorial overview of my accordion file will be posted next week.)

With my husband’s personal documents stored in the fifth slot, I have placed these personal documents of mine in the sixth gap of the accordion file:

  1. LSAT Score. Before we had children, I toyed with the idea of going to law school. Though that endeavor did not materialize, I took the test, and I keep those documents in this file.
  2. Teaching Certificate. Though it is expired and states my maiden name, I keep my professional teaching certificate from the South Carolina Board of Education with my personal documents. Unlike my LSAT score, I actually needed my certificate in 1997, when I taught high school speech, drama, and 10th grade English in the public school system.
  3. Transcripts. Copies or student-issued, unofficial originals of my 5 transcripts are kept in this file.
  • Partial records for 9th -11th grades from one school.
  • Complete high school record from school from which I graduated.
  • Community college records for 3 classes took during summer sessions.
  • Undergraduate records.
  • Graduate transcript.

This file has been purged of SAT and ACT scores (college entrance exams), EEE and Praxis II scores (teaching certificate tests), and my GRE score (graduate school entrance exam).  Since I have already benefited from these tests and could request the information from the official boards, I have chosen to rid them from my file. If you have these documents and will be using them in the future, then please keep them. For me, I have exhausted the uses for these scores, so I choose not to have them clutter up my file. However, I have kept the LSAT scores since I may still profit from them.

If I obtain other certifications, degrees, scores, or other personal documents pertaining only to me, I will add those documents to this sixth file slot. At present, this file is complete. Next week, instead of continuing with the seventh file slot, I will show you my file box. The visual explanation may be more valuable than my written description. In the meantime, happy organizing!

Show and Tell: File Box 1

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Up until now, I have only explained my accordion filing system. Realizing that I have failed to show you my file, I apologize and deliver a show-and-tell session of Box 1 of my accordion filing system.

The closed accordion file box. When purchased, the file had a string to close it. But after sliding the box on and off the shelf with the string getting caught on the other files, the string broke. Since the file still functions properly and I like this system, I have kept the “broken” file box.

The opened accordion file box. This box, purchased inexpensively at Wal-mart, has 13 gaps or slots. I have not labeled each slot, but the categories are written on the tab inserts. For me, having each slot labeled would be a sea of clutter. I prefer to spend my time keeping the file simple by just notating the categories to guide me to the document needed.

Up-close look at the file tabs. In this file, I have used four tabs to identify the four categories. To make the tabs easy to read, I have placed them in a row from left to right. The four categories identified in this box are:

  1. Credit Report/Card Documents
  2. Important Personal Documents
  3. Home Ownership Documents
  4. Auto, RV, and Boat Documents

This concludes the pictorial tour of my accordion file box. Now as I explain where I have placed named documents, you will have a visual image of my document organization.

What about you? What filing system are you using? Was this post helpful to you? I welcome your feedback.

Personal: Children’s Documents

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Are you ready to complete the second category in organizing our documents? I thought you might be ready to reach a milestone.

Thus far, we have filed our important personal documents in the accordion file slots: four, five, and six.

Today, we commence the final slot in this category . . . my children’s documents housed in the seventh opening from the front of file box 1.

Though my three children are young (all ages 6 and under), they have still acquired a few personal documents. Here are the documents contained in this file slot:

Child #1:

  • Newborn Hearing Screen Results
  • Hearing Screen Certificate
  • Born to Learn Certificate from public school system
  • Build-A-Bear Birth Certificate (received from relatives)
  • Kindergarten diploma 🙂

Child #2:

  • Newborn Hearing Screen Results
  • Hearing Screen Certificate

Child #3:

  • Newborn Hearing Screen Results
  • Hearing Screen Certificate

As I obtain other certifications, transcripts, scores, and other personal documents for my children, I will probably need to expand this file. Eventually, each child will get his or her own file slot. Until that time, I keep the documents in the order of their birth in one file slot.

Yea! The personal documents category is now complete. I’m celebrating with you as you continue this journey to organize your family’s important documents. Come back next week for a checkup. Happy organizing!

Home Ownership: Deeds

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Having completed the first two categories: Credit Report/Card Documents and Important Personal Documents in our filing system, it is time to focus on the third category: Home Ownership Documents. Since the first two categories took up file slots one through seven, the home ownership documents begin in the eighth slot in my accordion filing system (pictured).

In case you are thinking, “I don’t own a home, so I can skip this section,” hang in there. When I setup our filing system, Paul and I were living in a rented townhouse. Though we did not own a home, we still had documents housed in this category. Then when we built and purchase our first house (about 1.5 years later), I knew exactly what documents I needed to keep and where to place them. So, hang in there through this category. If you plan to own a home at some point in your future, then this section can help you prepare for that day.

Here is the checklist from the Protection Portfolio system by Suze Orman:

  • Deeds
  • Promissory Notes*
  • Homeowner’s insurance
  • Co-ownership property agreement*
  • Fire insurance
  • Copy of survey
  • Copy of title policy
  • Appraisals and evaluations of valuable items such as jewelry, art, and antiques

Items with an (*) are additional records Suze Orman suggests for this category that I do not have in my file.

Having researched mortgages and purchased one home, I will share with you my experiences. In no way am I offering advice or suggesting that you follow the path Paul and I have trod. If you are looking for information on mortgages, insurance, or other items dealing with home ownership, then please consult a highly recommended professional in the field.

Located in this eighth file slot under Home Ownership, I have the following 4 documents paper clipped together:

1. Recorded Deed. To the best of my knowledge, this document was sent to me from the Register of Deeds about a week after our closing. Our deed is an original 2-page document.

2. HUD Settlement Statement for Mortgage. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires this standardized form for federally related mortgages and is a financial overview of our closing. This 4-page document included the sale price, sellers’ costs, buyers’ costs, and all payments. I consider this document my receipt for our mortgage.

3. HUD Settlement Statement for Line of Credit. This document is a 3-page receipt for our line of credit account.

Though you may or may not agree with our choice for home mortgage, we did a lot of research before building and purchasing our home. Our best option was an 80/20 loan. We chose a mortgage to cover 80% of our contract price, and a 20% line of credit to cover the remaining balance.

By splitting the amount into two loans, we avoided paying PMI (private mortgage insurance) which is insurance for the lender and cannot be claimed on taxes. This choice has and continues to work well for us, and I have no buyer’s remorse.

4. Copy of check and receipt from attorney’s office. At our closing, we were refunded for our escrow amount. When Paul and I contracted with our builder, we paid a lump sum up front. Then about 5-6 months later at our closing, we received a check for the balance in that account. In this file slot, I keep the copy of the check with the receipt.

Since Paul and I only own one home, our filing system holds one set of these documents. If you own multiple properties or homes, then you will want to keep separate file slots for each property. If you have many properties, then another accordion file or system may be in your future. 🙂

This set of documents is housed in the eighth file slot of my accordion filing system under the third category: Home Ownership Documents. The next item in Suze Orman’s checklist is Promissory Notes. Since I keep another filing system for our home documents, I do not have our promissory notes or mortgage and line of credit paperwork in this filing system. Therefore, I am not going to write a separate post for them. If you do not have a “home” for your promissory notes and closing documents, you might consider housing them in this file.

Though I will not post about promissory notes next week, I will share my homeowner insurance documents housed in this category. I hope you are successfully organizing your important documents to help you use your time wisely for years to come. Happy organizing!

Home Ownership: Homeowner’s Insurance

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As I get out my file Box 1 to gather the documents from the eighth slot, I am reminded why I chose to spend my time wisely in organizing my family’s important documents. Knowing that all the documents are in one location within easy reach and that I can locate any given policy within a one-minute time frame thrills me. Using my time wisely, over 7 years ago, was time well spent.

Reflection on a job well done is encouraging. If you are making progress, then take a step back. Admire your progress (no matter how small), and be encouraged that “Rome was not built in a day.” Little steps here and there will get you to your desired end. Just keep on track.

In keeping you on track, we are focusing on the third category, Home Ownership Documents, and have added our deed(s). The next item in this eighth file slot of my accordion-filing system is our homeowner insurance documents.

When I first set up our filing system, Paul and I were not homeowners. However, we were renting and had renter’s insurance. Those rental insurance documents were housed in this category until they were replaced for our homeowner’s insurance. Though you might not own a home (yet), you can still benefit from setting up your organizational system before you purchase your first home.

My pack of homeowner insurance documents includes the following items:

  1. Homeowner’s Policy. Our policy is a booklet printed on thin paper.
  2. Declarations Page. I receive this page with the notification of our annual bill.
  3. Annual Bill. I keep the most current annual bill.
  4. Copy of Mortgage Statement with Insurance Payment. When my mortgage company pays the homeowner’s policy (out of our escrow account), I make a copy of that mortgage statement and keep it with the bill. If the payment is ever in question, I will have the proof with my policy.
  5. Notices of Changes to our Policy. At the time of renewal, our annual statement may include Notices of Change. As I review these documents, I will keep any Notice of Change forms and add them to this section of my file.
  6. Privacy Policy. Each year our insurance company sends an updated privacy policy. I keep the current policy with our insurance documents.

These six items are placed in the listed order and attached with a paper clip. I then have these items filed behind the deed paperwork. The next two items in Suze Orman’s checklist are co-ownership property agreement (which I do not have) and fire insurance. I will not include a separate post for fire insurance. Our homeowner’s insurance covers any damage due to fire or lightning. If your state requires additional insurance for fire and you have fire insurance, then you can add those documents in this file.

Next week as we continue this category of home ownership, I will share an additional set of documents I have added to this category. In theory these documents could be added to another category, but I find the paperwork quicker when filed in this category. Come back next week where I will fill you in. In the meantime, happy organizing!

Question: What additional documents do you include with your home insurance documents?