Do you have stacks of papers on your kitchen counter, the desk in your office, jammed in a closet, everywhere?  Partially opened mail multiplies by the day because no one knows where to put the latest student loan notice about interest rates, or your car insurance update.  There are so many things that shouldn’t be thrown away, but you don’t have a place for them.

If you are serious about budgeting and getting control of your money, it is time to get your financial life organized!  I am going to share with you step-by-step, the best way to organize all of that paperwork in a real, workable way that will make sense for your household.  This organization system has worked so well in my home, my husband can understand it (he oftentimes does not understand my organized brain), and knows exactly where to find the information he is looking for.

When Should You Set Up This System?

Start today!  Now!  There is never a perfect time to do this, it just needs to happen.  If you are new to budgeting and aren’t sure where to start; start with this.  If you already budget, but still feel like things are a bit chaotic, start this today.  The whole point of physically organizing your finances is to make your life easier, and take the guesswork out of everything pertaining to your money.

In a perfect world, this organization process would happen first, then you would get your budget set up and then you would tackle saving $1,000 for your emergency fund.

If you are looking to learn more about budgeting, start here.

If you want to know more about building a $1,000 emergency fund, start here.

Why is This Organization System So Beneficial?

This system will put all of your financial information in one place.  Everything you could ever need will be labeled and easily accessible to both you and your spouse.  The other bonus to this is, it finally gives you a place to put all those papers that you know you should keep, but have no idea where to put them.  Even in this digital age, I am a huge fan of having physical documentation for different accounts in your home.  These papers need a place to be accessible when you need them.

This organization system will allow you to easily keep track of your debts.  Everything will be within the file – account access, how much is owed, payment withdrawal date, latest interest rate updates, password change, etc.  Everything you need to know about your debt will be in one place.  Instead of ignoring your debt in the hopes it will go away; it will be organized and functional to help you navigate it with efficiency.

This system will also give you peace of mind should something happen to you.  Your spouse will know exactly where all the information is should he need to take care of your financial life.  As a wife, you want to make sure your husband is taken care of.  It’s never fun to think about, but if something were to happen to you, the last thing your spouse should have to deal with is figuring out what loan company he needs to contact or try to find the password for.  Everything your spouse would need will be in one location.

What Supplies Do You Need to Start Getting Organized?

SHOPPING LIST

• CLEAR BOX FILE (14″ X 18″ 11″)
• HANGING FILE FOLDERS
• LETTER MANILA FOLDERS
• PILOT G2 PENS (THE BEST PEN ON THE PLANET!)

Clear Box File:

I went with a Stackable File Box from Target that was 14”x18”x11”.  This was a good size that wouldn’t hold so much that I couldn’t lift it.  It also was a good size to fit inside our desk.  This replaces the old idea of a filing cabinet and can easily be transported if needed.  One box file will be big enough for your household. If you run your own business, you may need an additional box, but for your personal finances, one is all you will need.

I purchased mine from Target:  “Room Essential Stackable File Box” for $13.79.  Amazon has some equivalents, but the prices can vary based on brand.

Pro tip: I would warn against buying one much bigger than the dimensions I have listed above because typically if you have the room, you will fill it up.  This could make it really heavy.

Hanging File Folders:

I was boring (and cheap!) and just bought the standard dark green legal size hanging folders.  These will be used for your main categories and will be labeled appropriately (I will explain this in the next section).  If you want to jazz it up a bit, there are different colors and designs available in hanging file folders, but they will be slightly more expensive.

I purchased mine from Target:  “Hanging File Folders Legal Size” 25 count for $9.99.  The labels are included.

Letter Manila File Folders:

Again, I was super boring and bought the plain manila folders.  These will be used inside the hanging folders to hold all the papers and allow for easy removal without the need to remove the entire hanging folder.

I purchased mine from Target:  Letter Manila File Folders” 36 count for $3.99.

Those are all the supplies you should need!  I found all of this stuff at Target (I shop there pretty regularly so it was convenient for me).  If you shop elsewhere (Walmart, Amazon, Staples, Office Depot) you can find the same products, and it should still be around $30 for everything (pending how fancy you get).

Use our Financial Organization Checklist to get organized today!  Gain access to our checklist and other resources for FREE by signing up below!

How to Set Up Your System:

The best way to organize your file is to start with things you and your spouse have together, then just your things, then just your spouse’s things, and at the end, some other specific categories.

For each category, use a Green Hanging File Folder and make the label for it:

“Together things” (each one gets its own folder):

• Home (I put the current street – Ex. Park Avenue, then if you move, you can add another folder for the new address – Ex. Forest Drive).
• Taxes
• Home Insurance
• Bank (I put the current bank name, then if you move, add another folder with the new bank name)
• Utilities
• Giving
• Health Insurance

“His Things” (each one gets its own folder):

• Job contract (I put the place of employment)
• Medical records
• Life Insurance
• Debt (Make a hanging file folder per type of debt ie. School, Car, Credit Card, etc.)

“Her Things” (each one gets its own folder):

• Job contract
• Medical records
• Life Insurance
• Debt (Make a hanging file folder per type of debt ie. School, Car, Credit Card, etc.)

“Additional categories” (one folder per category):

• Passwords
• Death
• Financial

Within each category, use a Manila File Folder and write the label on the top tab of the folder.  These folders will be going into the green hanging file folders (“sub-categories):

“Together things”:

• Home:  Manila folder per street address
• Taxes:  Manila folder per year
• Home Insurance: Manila folder per policy
• Bank: Manila folder per bank you are using
• Utilities:  Manila folder per utility (gas, electric, water/sewer, phone, cable, internet)
• Giving: Manila folder per charity (ex. we give to World Vision)
• Health Insurance: Manila folder per company/plan – I like to print out the plan benefits yearly to have this readily available (copays, in-network, max out-of-pocket, etc.)

“His Things”:

• Job contract:  Manila folder per place of employment
• Medical records:  Manila folder per health section (medical, dental, vision)
• Life Insurance: Manila folder per policy
• Debt: Manila folder for each outstanding debt filed under the appropriate category.  Label it according to the actual loan name (ex. Visa, Mastercard – you can even add the card number, student loan servicing company name, car loan company name).

“Her Things”:

• Job contract:  Manila folder per place of employment
• Medical records:  Manila folder per health section (medical, dental, vision)
• Life Insurance: Manila folder per policy
• Debt: Manila folder for each outstanding debt filed under the appropriate category.  Label it according to the actual loan name (ex. Visa, Mastercard – you can even add the card number, student loan servicing company name, car loan company name).

“Additional categories” (one folder per category):

• Passwords:  Manila folder labeled “passwords”
• Death:  Manila folder for each section (Will – this will house the location of the will, how to locate it, etc.; Funeral – any requests for your service, flowers, casket, music, etc.; Debt – instructions on which loans to contact with a death certificate if they are forgiven upon your death)
• Financial: Manila folder labeled “budgets” (you will keep your handwritten budgets in this section for the year)

Once you have your filing system set up and organized, file all those papers you’ve been stashing in the appropriate spot.  In the passwords section, I have post-its and papers of our different online accounts, and all the passwords and security question answers.  I also have my Facebook and email passwords in case of my death.  For added security, in each category (health insurance, debt, utilities) where an online account has been set up, that password and information are kept in that folder as well.

I’m so excited for you to get all of those papers put into one, organized location!  What a fabulous feeling it will be when everything is all sorted and given a home.  I think this whole process took me 2 hours because I had to figure out my categories and how I wanted to organize it.  Since I am already writing out the plan for you, this should take you under 2 hours to complete.  Just 2 hours or less to finally get things organized!!

Use the FREE Financial Organization Checklist to set up your system!  Gain access to this checklist and our other budgeting resources by signing up below!

Once it’s Set Up, How Are You Going to Maintain It?

Once you get all of your papers put into the correct location, use the system every time you get new information that should be filed.  Don’t let that mail pile up! I don’t get rid of any papers I am accumulating for an entire year.  The whole point of this is to give that information a home for a period of time in case you need it.  Every year at tax time, when we are gathering all of our information, I will go through each category and folder and weed out information that is past its date, and I likely won’t need anymore. For example, if you have monthly updates on a student loan that you have been keeping for the past year, ditch the previous 11 and just keep the most recent one.

The beauty of the system is, it keeps all that paperwork from causing chaos in your home all year.  Then once a year, you can give yourself permission to purge some of those unnecessary documents and not feel guilty about it.  If you have had them for a year and have found no use for them, get rid of them!  In the meantime, the paper has been out of sight, and in its proper place.

This filing system is what I have found to work the best in our home.  For $30 and 2 hours of your time, it is so worth it to get your financial life organized.  This will decrease the clutter, chaos, and stress in your home caused by not knowing where to put all that information.  Follow the steps to label everything appropriately as it applies to your life. Your organization system should look a little bit different than mine because you have a different household.  One file box is all you will need to organize your finances in a workable way that makes sense!

Show me a picture of your filing system and let me know how fast you got organized!

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