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An Organized Filing System

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Photograph Credit: Microsoft Images

After my husband and I were married, we found ourselves without an organizational system for our finances. We had his accounts and her accounts.

As we tried to determine the best way to merge our lives, we sought financial advice. Since my uncle is in the financial field, I picked his brain.

He graciously answered our questions and guided us on our way. For Christmas that year, he gave us Suze Orman’s The Road to Wealth.

I read the book cover to cover and implemented a lot of her ideas. I do not agree with everything she promotes.

Without taking her stance on prenuptial agreements and her legal advice, I can agree with her stance on money. Her advice has helped my husband and I make knowledgeable decisions on insurance and ROTH IRAs.

A few years after mapping out our financial plan, I purchased a kit designed by Suze Orman to house all our financial paperwork. The kit was purchased through the local PBS at a special price during a Suze Orman presentation. Some of the proceeds of each purchase went to support our local Public Broadcasting Station.

The kit ended up being too small for all our important documents, so I purchased three legal-sized accordion files. Here is a breakdown of the documentation housed in each box:

Box 1 of 3

  • Credit reports and credit cards
  • Personal records
  • Home ownership
  • Vehicles

Box 2 of 3

  • Personal insurance
  • Life insurance
  • Major medical insurance
  • Health savings account/medical spending account
  • Prescription coverage
  • Dental insurance
  • Critical illness/cancer/stem cell paperwork
  • Short term disability
  • Long term disability

Box 3 of 3

  • Social Security
  • Retirement accounts
  • Investment accounts
  • Estate planning
  • Tax records

In upcoming posts, I will outline what I have included in each of these sections. These items are based on Suze Orman’s advice, but I will share what system has worked for me. You might find that another system works best for you.

For me, having all our important documents in one place makes finding birth certificates, passports, insurance polices, etc. quick to locate since I know in which file to look. I also save money since I don’t have to pay for additional copies of birth certificates, passports, or credit reports.

All the documents are in these files. This organizational system has saved and continues to save me time and money.

Question: Do you have all your important documents organized in one spot? How have you organized your files to save you time in looking for paperwork? I would love to hear about your organizational system.

Rising above Household Disorder

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If you are like me, then you have those days when everything in your life feels unorganized and chaotic. As a wife and mother of three small children, I have days like this at least once a month. You might not have these feelings or you may feel overwhelmed more often, but I do understand the feeling of crawling out from under the mess and getting back on track.

To keep my home running smoothly, I must have a system that works for me. What works for me may or may not work for you. My organizational system has changed many times over the years. I can no longer take three to four days to clean my house top to bottom. However, I can break the cleaning schedule into bite-size pieces to make the task manageable.

So please join me on Mondays as I share with you how I work to keep my home organized. Next Monday I hope to reveal how we efficiently pickup a room of toys.