3 Steps To Organizing Your Personal Financial Documents

Iā€™m tired of all the papers, how do I get this stuff organized?

How do you organize your financial documents? If you don't know where to start, then this blog's for you!

I get it. Your documents are growing, but your space is not. It seems like documents are coming from everywhere- email and mail. You're busy with the 800 things on your to-do list and toss the documents to the side, promising yourself you will organize them. A few months later, you look at your paperwork mountain and become overwhelmed at where to start. I'm here to say you can slay the paperwork dragon without going insane.

THE 3 STEPS TO ORGANIZE YOUR FINANCIAL DOCUMENTS

  1. Get rid of the documents you don't need to keep

  2. Organize your paperwork by categories

  3. Store your documents

See, it's not so bad. So, let's get started!

ORGANIZE YOUR FINANCIAL DOCUMENTS- STEP 1: GET RID OF DOCUMENTS YOU DON'T NEED TO KEEP.

Use this checklist as a guide to help you decide what documents you will keep or toss. For tax and legal documents, consult with a tax or legal professional before tossing the document. For documents with personal information, consider shredding. Check for free shred days in your area.

Remember, the guidance below is only a guideline as to when to toss paperwork. Use your best judgment.

Toss in One Month

This guidance is for non-tax-related documents.

  • ATM deposits

  • Credit card receipts 

  • Debit card receipts

  • Deposit slips

Toss in One Year

This guidance is for non-tax-related documents.

  • Paystubs until you can compare them to your W2/Social Security Statement

  • Utilities

  • Canceled Checks  

  • Credit card receipts

  • Bank Statements(unless the canceled check is a tax return supporting document)

  • Mortgage statements

  • Quarterly Investment Statements, until you get your annual statement

Toss after Three Years

  • Medical Bills Cancelled Insurance Policies

  • Home Sale Records

  • Stock Sale Records

  • Use the IRS website for guidance specific to your tax situation for records used for a tax deduction.

  • Annual Investment Statement

Toss after 7 Years

Contact your tax professional for specific guidance

  • Documents used to support information on returns. As stated before, go to the IRS website for guidance specific to your tax documents.

  • Annual investment statements

  • Terminated Insurance Documents

  • Sold home Mortgage and home documents  

Keep while still active

  • Contracts-credit cards, loans, services, etc.

  • Insurance Documents

  • Investment purchase record- as long as you hold the investment.

  • Property Records

  • Stock Records

  • Records of retirement/pensions

  • Disputed bills

  • Record of home improvements

  • Warranties until expired or for the life of the product

Keep forever (Vital Documents)

  • Marriage license

  • Divorce decree

  • Child custody documents

  • Birth Certificates

  • Social Security Cards

  • Estate Planning Documents like wills

  • Adoption records

  • DD214, Military discharge records

  • Records of paid mortgages

  • Tax Returns

  • Passports

  • Education records

  • Citizenship/Naturalization/Green Card

ORGANIZE YOUR FINANCIAL DOCUMENTS- STEP 2: ORGANIZE YOUR PAPERWORK BY CATEGORIES

Once we've tossed or shredded the documents you don't need, the next step is to organize your documents into categories, so you can easily find them when you need them.

SANITY SAVING TIP: Take your time and organize by categories. For instance, if you have an auto category, organize all of your auto documents first, then move on to your next category.

Below are the main categories and subcategories suggestions. I use a large hanging file folder for my main categories. I then use manilla file folders for each subcategory and put the manilla folders in the large hanging file folder.
 

Categories/subcategory suggestions:

  • Main Category: Auto

  • Subcategories:  Titles, Car loan information, Service/Repair Records, etc.

  • Main Category: Home

  • Subcategories: Mortgage information/Apartment Lease information, service and repair records, utility bills (if you have them mailed), homeowner association information, warranties, homeowner insurance information

  • Main Category: Employment

  • Subcategories: Each spouse's employer information, open enrollment booklets, etc

  • Main Category: Financial

  • Subcategories:  Banking information, debt information (credit, student, auto, other debt), investments, retirement, financial goal worksheets, etc.

  • Main Category: Insurance

  • Subcategories: Auto, Health-Related (healthcare, dental, vision, critical care, etc.), Medical Savings Accounts, Life, Disability, Long Term Care, Warranties, Pet Insurance, etc.

  • Main Category: Kids

  • Subcategories School information, progress reports, report cards, school meeting notes, etc. OK, I know this is not financial-related, but I gotta help my moms out!

  • Main Category: Medical

  • Subcategories: One for each family member-Medical related receipts, visits, immunization records, etc.

  • Main Category: Instructions. I dump all manuals in one category, but you can create subcategories for each instruction booklet.

  • Main Category: Pets

  • Subcategories: Vet visits, adoption paperwork, receipts of services.

  • Main Category: Taxes Returns

  • Subcategories: Tax records by year. I also have a folder for the Current Yearā€™s Tax Information to dump any tax-related documents into that file throughout the year. 

  • Main Category: Vital Records

  • Subcategories: Marriage, Birth, Divorce, Child Support, Citizenship, Estate, Passports, Military records.

ORGANIZE YOUR FINANCIAL DOCUMENTS -STEP 3: STORE YOUR PAPERWORK

Now that youā€™ve gotten rid of the stuff you donā€™t need and categorized the paperwork you are keeping. Now, have a better idea of the type of storage you need.  

For paperwork:

I do a combination of folders and binders. I place the documents I don't use often but need to keep in file folders (auto service records, receipts, etc). The documents I often use I keep in binders. I keep my vital documents in a binder.

You can store your vital document binder in a fire-resistant safe or file cabinet. You can also scan and save in encrypted cloud storage with extra security. 

For electronic documents:

Create electronic folders based on your documents in your cloud storage, like Google Drive.

IN CONCLUSION

Rome was not built in a day, and your paperwork work wonā€™t be organized in minutes. To recap, the three steps to take to organize your financial documents are below:

  1. Get rid of the documents you don't need to keep

  2. Organize your paperwork by categories

  3. Store your documents

You only have to organize your documents once.  Once done, schedule a quarterly review of your records to easily maintain your files. This will go a long way to helping your get financially organized to quit your job to launch your business full-time. If youā€™re feeling stuck on what to do, consider scheduling a FREE Discovery Call.

Tania Brown

I specialize in helping women over 40 confidently transition from corporate jobs to fulfilling coaching businesses by crafting personalized job exit financial plans.

https://www.taniapbrown.com
Previous
Previous

10 Ways To Automate Your Finances

Next
Next

How to help your parents get financially organized