Today we are going to Organize your Finances. Well, actually not your finances but all the paperwork that goes along with this traditionally messy topic. As always here at The Peaceful Haven, we will approach this task with frugality in our hearts and boxes in our arms.
If you are looking for ways to save money or practical tips to help you manage your finances please check out Financial Health And Why It Matters.
SUPPLIES
6 boxes
large file cabinet or two small (Don’t have one? Use 4 paper boxes until you find a file cabinet on the cheap.)
Before you get started you might want to pour yourself a giant cup of coffee! Sorting papers can be a bit, well, boring! When I was sorting I went through quite a few cups of coffee.
Organize Your Finances
Label each paper box with the following titles.
- FOREVER
- MONTHLY STATEMENTS
- TAXES
- MEDICAL
- BANK/INVESTMENT
- SHRED
Here are a few tips before you start sorting.
Things that you will save FOREVER are a marriage license, divorce decree, baptism certificates, life insurance documents, birth certificates, wills, car titles, homeownership documents, diplomas, the past seven years of tax returns, social security cards, estate planning records, and insurance policies.
You can SHRED pay stubs and bank statements over one-year-old, credit card statements over six months old, and tax records over seven years old.
Scan as many documents as you can and store them on a jump drive or on a secure cloud service. For Apple users, TurboScan Pro is only $4.99 and lets you scan and store documents, receipts, and any paperwork you find you need to keep.
After You Sort And Shred
Take all the items from your FOREVER box and organize them by labeled file folders and keep them in a fireproof lockbox.
Take one box at a time and label file folders that are sub-categories. For example, within the MEDICAL box, you should have folders labeled for insurance claims, for each member of your family, medical reports, and vaccination records. You will need to customize each subcategory according to your family’s needs.
After you have finished this task you can return your files to the file cabinet. Make sure to further organize by transferring the labels from the boxes to the file cabinet.
Frugal Tip
It will save you time and money to go paperless! Pay your bills online and make your financial command center your computer (backed up of course!) With this one tip, you will save money on paper, and stamps and all the time you will save by not having to file as much is a big incentive for me. Time is money after all.
YOUR TURN…
What are your tips to organize your finances?
Blessings,
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Thanks so much for sharing this great info! I am looking forward to seeing more organization posts!