Ever need to find an important paper that you knew you filed away carefully, but you still couldn’t find?
If you are like a lot of people, myself included, you file things away, just not very well. For instance, I have a large box that I put all my papers in, important or otherwise, and I continue to fill that and other boxes till they are bursting at the seams.
Then, I decide to go through and rid myself of a lot of paper that I no longer need. This is a vicious cycle that I go through every couple of years. So what things should you and I keep, and how long should we keep them?
First things first. Ask yourself what type of filing system you currently have. Next, consider how difficult it would be for other members within your household to figure out this record system.
Now that you have assessed your filing system or the lack thereof, let’s see what we can do to get things in order. You will need to organize or set up a filing system. Remember to use a system that fits your family’s lifestyle. Here are some things you will need to consider:
– Who will take the responsibility for record-keeping in the family?
– Where will you keep important papers?
– When will the record keeping be done?
– Annual review of filing system used (purging of old files).
– Equipment you will need.
– Storage.
You may also want to keep two home files in addition to a safe deposit box in a bank. These two are commonly referred to as your active and your dead storage file.
Your active holds unpaid pills till paid, paid bill receipts, current cancelled checks, tax papers, etc. After three years, these items should be moved to your dead storage file.
Later, after you have organized your family’s filing system, you may also want to keep a book that contains a list of all account information, family member’s Social Security numbers, benefits and an inventory of the safe deposit box.
I cannot stress enough the importance of being able to locate important papers when you need them, as well as keeping these important papers in a safe place. To find out more information on family/household records visit these Web sites:
www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_ text/money/keeprecords/keeprecords.htm
www.ag.ndsu.edu/pubs/yf/fammgmt/fe445w.htm
www.montana.edu/www pb/pubs/mt9611.html
www.montana.edu/www pb/pubs/mt9513.html
For additional information, contact Toi N. Degree, Family & Consumer Education Science agent with the N.C. Cooperative Extension Service Rowan County Center at 704-216-8979 or Toi_Degree@ncsu.edu.