Let Your Fingers Do the Walking

By Stanley Greenfield, RHU

No, this is not a plug for Ma Bell. It's time to get organized, and I don't just mean getting all the mess on your desk into neat little piles, or your back copies of Dynamic Chiropractic in chronological order. What I'm referring to is making a listing of things that will be helpful to you, and in case you are not able, or around, a list for your family. This list can be as extensive as you want it to be. While you are working on it you might as well do it right. Once you have it, it's easy to keep it up to date, and you need to do just that. An outdated list is almost as bad as no list at all.

List of advisors, including name, address, and telephone number:

Attorney ________________

Accountant ________________

Insurance Agent(s) ________________

Financial Advisor ________________

Banker ________________

Guardian (for minors) ________________

List of documents and where they can be found:

Will(s) ________________

Safety deposit box number and keys ________________

Insurance contracts ________________

Deeds ________________

Contracts ________________

Appraisals ________________

Mutual fund certificates ________________

Stocks ________________

I.R.A.s ________________

Retirement plans ________________

Old tax returns ________________

Pre-nuptial agreements ________________

Trusts ________________

Benefits booklets ________________

Military records ________________

Important numbers:

Social Security numbers ________________

Insurance policy numbers ________________

Tax I.D. numbers ________________

Credit card numbers ________________

Account numbers:

Checking ________________

Savings ________________

Money markets ________________

CDs ________________

Now that you have all this, what do you do with it? You need to create a list that will be handy for your use and accessible to your family. You can put this list on a computer program, if computers are your thing. You can just write it down; not very sexy, but it works. How about putting this on your Rolodex? Now you have it at your fingertips and can keep it updated very easily. Whatever works for you is fine. Just do it, and do it now. By the way, if you come up with a creative way to deal with this list, let me know. I'm always looking for new and creative ideas I can use. I'll even give you credit for it, so drop me a line.

I might not hurt to keep a list of outstanding loans as well. This could also be kept in your Rolodex. Not a bad way to keep track of your loans. List the terms of the loan, interest rate, length of the loan, payments, when due, loan number, lender, and maturity date.

If you use this system and put it all in your Rolodex, you can really "let your fingers do the walking" when you need any information.

Your comments and inquiries may be directed to:

Stanley Greenfield, R.H.U.
7240 Swansong Way
Bethesda, Maryland 20817

Please include a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Thank you.

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