Family Vital Information Binder

I am my family’s office manager. In that role, I manage all of the day-to-day details regarding our financial accounts, from our personal checking to our retirement and everything in between.

I had all of this info scattered in my brain and in different file folders.  My husband is many things, but he is not a mind-reader, so creating this binder was on my to-do list for some time. In fact, it was one of my 2020 financial goals. I’m not sure why I didn’t complete it in 2020, since I had more free time than usual, but I finally got the project done in 2021.  It took about two hours to gather everything needed for the binder. IT WAS TIME WELL SPENT!

Our Family Vital Info Binder contains all of our important-to-us info in one place and since I am the family office manager, my husband can use the binder to find anything he needs if I’m unavailable.

Obviously, for my safety, I will not show the contents of my binder, but here is a peek at what ours looks like. Because of the sensitive nature of the contents of this binder, store it in a safe location in your home. Also, make sure all of your family members are aware of this location, including any extended family members who should be included in knowing its whereabouts.

Our Family’s Vital Information Binder:

Cover page – The very first page points family members to vital numbers and locations of important documents. It includes:

• All of our cell phone numbers.
• The login to my Macbook.
• Information regarding our safe.
• The name and number of the lawyer who handled our will.
• Info about where to find our important documents, such as passports, ss cards, birth certs, and our will.

The Tabs:

After the cover page, I have many tabs to make the binder very functional and organized. I printed a recent statement or bill of each account and wrote any important details about each account number, the advisor or rep’s name and phone number, and the log-in password. I found this to be a concise, less-cluttered way to keep all of our financial information organized.

• Medical Info – includes health insurance details and names and details of our doctors, dentists, and other specialists.
• Contact Info – I included names and numbers of extended family members, along with business cards of important contacts.
• Mortgage
• Bank accounts
• Credit cards
• Utilities
• Loans
• Insurance – including health, auto, home, life.
• Retirement
• Business Accounts

I’m not sure why it took me so long to create this binder, but I’m so glad it’s done and I crossed another project off my to-do list.

Do you have a Vital Information Binder? If not, make it a priority on your to-do list!