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Keeping a House Book
By B. Dear
My family uses a house book, or
house records book,
to keep all of our useful information stored in one central place. It's
a great way to organize information.We
use a
three-ring binder filled with plastic document protectors (to protect
important documents) and notebook paper for ad hoc notes.
The book stays in a central place that everyone in the family is
familiar with. It's simple, and doesn't require IT support. Below, I
have listed it's contents and some organization tips
in case you would like to
organize your stuff in a similar manner.
In this book, we keep the
following things:
Bill Payment Checklist:
I
make up a checklist to ensure that all of our bills are paid on time
each
month. It gets checked off as they are paid. This list also comes in
handy as a quick reference if you can't remember when you paid the
bill. I list out the bills in an Excel spreadsheet, then add all the
information that I want to track from the monthly statements. I print a
copy of the sheet each month and place it in the book.
Checkbook: This
goes
in the front
pocket. It's used to pays bills when I can’t pay them online.
Keeping your checkbook in the book also makes it easy to find and keeps
it at home to discourage impulse shopping.
Bank Statements: These
help with
balancing the checkbook. I punch holes in them with a three hole punch
and keep at least a year's worth of statements at a time.
Creditor List:A
list of
your creditors along with their toll-free numbers to inquire about
billing
statements, dispute charges, confirm payments, etc. I write the credit
card numbers in by hand to keep from storing them on my PC.
Home Repair List:Helps
you
plan for costly repairs that need to be budgeted for. This list is also
nice to grab if you know you'll be making a trip to Home Depot.
Car Maintenance Schedule: Makes
sure car maintenance is getting done regularly and helps to spread out
the cost of maintenance throughout the year..
Credit Reports:
This reminds
you to dispute any incorrect information while doing your bills. You
can get free
annual credit reports at www.annualcreditreport.com.
If you keep tabs on your credit reports and work to fix them throughout
the year, it saves you a lot of hassle when you want to buy a house or
car.
Grocery List: Add
items as
you realize you need them. Then remove the list when you go shopping.
Replace the list in the book when you get back, so you'll remember what
you bought on the last trip.
Address Book: A
list
including all telephone numbers for emergency services, relatives and
friends.
Information should include Name, Address, and any available telephone
numbers.
This comes in handy when you have a babysitter, your cell phone is
turned off,
and one of your kids gets sick. (Trust me, it happens.)
To Do Lists: Keeps
you on
track and getting things accomplished.
Restaurant
Flyers: These are
useful for deciding what we want to eat when we order food. We just
pull out the book and the menus are all right there.
Medical/Dental
Insurance Cards:
I keep all of the families medical information in the book so it
doesn't get lost. A babysitter may also need this information if one of
your children are injured or get sick while you are at work.
Emergency
Document List: This
is a list detailing the location of all important documents should
something unfortunate happen to you. If you are seriously injured or
killed, your family should be able to locate your will, social security
information, life insurance information, bank information, etc..
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