Having trouble with your filing cabinet? Is everything filed under miscellaneous? After doing your taxes this year you promised yourself you would have a better filing system? Want a simple and relatively inexpensive solution?
A few years ago I set out to redo my files. I wanted some guidance for the categories I should set up. So I did what I normally do – I searched the web. I came across the site http://www.homefileorganizer.com/. For $25 you can have a complete filing system in place and ready to go! (FYI – I am not affiliated with this company, nor am I getting anything in return for recommending their product – I just happen to use it myself). It is a pretty good system – you get 2 index cards that have all the categories on them (so if you forget where you may have filed something you can look on the list to see where they recommend you file things). You also get 22 lamented file divider cards – this is what I really liked. Sure, I could have hand written my own file folders – but if you have ever seen my handwriting you know why I didn’t! Just drop each file divider card into its own manila folder and put them in your file drawer and you are ready to go!
In addition, you get a financial planning organization handbook that is helpful. It covers such things as safeguarding valuable records, the IRS and your files, how to use the quick-find index, and covers some basic organizational principles. It’s written by J. Michael Martin and Mary E. Martin, both of whom are Certified Financial Planners.
Sure, you could set up your own filing system (I have several times in the past), but this is so easy and useful that I didn’t mind spending the money. There are a few categories I wish they had added, so I did have to make a few extra categories to suit my needs: research (for information on things I might purchase in the future), computer (for all my computer stuff), utilities (some people throw away after paying – I need to keep for a year for tax purposes), etc. But overall I have enjoyed using it.
Do you use your own system, or maybe some other company’s system? Let us know and share your filing tips!
