Free Article: Credit Repair

You are here:
Directory | Credit Repair |

Financial Records: Create An Effective Filing System
By Myles Johnstone

In order to effectively reduce your debts and fix your credit history, you are going to have understand proper organization and effective ways to keep track of your financial records. To make an effective filing system, experts recommend alphabetizing your relevant documents by subject or category. But don't make the mistake of having too many or too few categories. A dozen broad categories should be the maximum in any filing system. Therefore, a sample file index might include categories for:

• Banking records (including checking and savings accounts)
• Bills paid (where you file regular monthly expenses)
• Budget (for itemized listings of all your expenses, income and assets)
• Credit cards (useful for storing receipts, statements and contracts)
• Insurance (auto, health, life and property insurance records)
• Investments (such as 401(k) and mutual fund reports)
• Mortgage
• Receipts
•Taxes

Once you've gotten your files labeled, you may wonder how long you should keep certain financial documents. As a rule, you should keep old tax records for at least seven years because that's how far back the law allows the IRS to go when it wants to audit you. You should also hang on indefinitely to your stock, bond and mutual fund statements - mainly because if you sell any of those investments later, you may need to demonstrate the cost basis of your investment to the IRS. However, you don't need to keep those prospectuses that mutual fund companies mail you each quarter, so you can safely toss those.

Maintaining Your Filing System

Once you've got a working system, of course the final step is to stay on top of your paperwork, so that it doesn't spiral out of control again. Experts say you should resist the urge to have general mail files - like the all-purpose "in" and "out" baskets that seem to occupy almost every home office and work desk space. Instead, create a paper-flow system that instantly tells you what you're supposed to do with the mail that's held there.

Once you weed through your files, purging unnecessary paperwork and reducing the amount of piles you have stacked up, chances are you'll be a lot clearer about your finances – and certainly better organized. What's more, if you take a few minutes each day to tackle your paperwork, you'll save yourself many hours - if not days - of having to wade through a morass of papers later in the year when you're trying to find some important document. This is particularly true when tax time rolls around. Imagine how great it would feel if you didn't have to go sifting through old piles of paper trying to justify all your tax deductions. Instead, you could simply turn over to your accountant or to a paid tax professional a nice, neat file of well-organized receipts and records.

About the Author
Myles Johnstone writes exclusively for finance related sites such as Refinancing Finance Info.com, Vehicle Finance Info.com and finance Solutions info.com where he writes about credit repair

Source: Top Finance Articles

NOTE: You may only use this article if the source, author details and links remain and are kept active. We use copyscape and other similar tools to ensure our content has this information with the article.

 

Related Credit Repair Articles:

4 Ways To Help Boost Your Credit Score
5 Questions You Must Ask A Credit Counseling Service Before Deciding
8 Solid Tips When Applying For Credit Cards
A List Of Rights You Have Against Debt Collectors (Part 1)
A List Of Rights You Have Against Debt Collectors (Part 2)
A List Of Rights You Have Against Debt Collectors (Part 3)
All Women Need To Read This - Understanding The Equal Credit Opportunity Act
Applying For A Credit Card - Check Out These 5 Comparison Shopping Tips
Are You A High Risk Or Low Risk Credit Applican - Understanding Your FICA Score
Are You Unemployed - Learn The Smart Way To Utilize Your Credit & Your Cash
Benefits Of A Debt-Management Plan
Benefits Of Working With A Credit Counseling Agency (Part 1)
Benefits Of Working With A Credit Counseling Agency (Part 2)
Cleaning Up Your Credit, Without Paying
Disputing With Credit Bureaus - Know Your Rights
Filing For Bankruptcy - Which Plan Is Right For You
Financial Records - Create An Effective Filing System
How Being Frugal Can Help You Gain Financial Independence
How Identity Theft Can Crash In Innocent Person's Credit
How To Build Credit In Your Own Name After A Divorce
Innovis - The Credit Report You've Probably Never Heard Of
It's Tough To Save Money When You Are Already Broke – But You Can Do It!
Learn How To Have Your Student Loans Canceled
Learn How To Read Your Credit Report
Myth - Closing Credit Accounts Will Help Your Score
Questionnaire To Determine If Your Future Spouse Is Financially Compatible
Relationships & Money - Research Your Partner's Debts Before Making Big Choices
Saving Money & Becoming Debt-Free Requires Deep Changes
Staying Out Of Debt With The IRS At Tax-Time
Talking With A Creditor - 5 Steps Of The Negotiation Cycle
The Benefits Of Keeping An Open Checking Account
The Importance Of Keeping Good Financial Records
The Shocking Truth Behind Credit Report Inaccuracies
Ways To Get Out Of Debt & Save Money (Part 1)
Ways To Get Out Of Debt & Save Money (Part 2)
Ways To Get Out Of Debt & Save Money (Part 3)
What Are Rapid Rescoring Services & How Can They Help My Credit
What To Do When There Is A Bank Error In Credit Reporting
What's The Best Time To Negotiate With Creditors
Why Do So Many Adults Have A Hard Time Managing Their Money

A few shorter credit/debt repair articles:

2 Reasons Why Big-Ticket Purchases Can Help Your Credit
3 Additional Ways Of Adding Positive Information To Your Credit File
3 Of The Biggest Credit Repair Mistakes You Must Avoid
3 Ways To Protect Yourself From Credit Card Fraud
6 Ways To Protect Your Social Security Number
11 Ways Your Identity Can Be Stolen
Applying for Credit Cards With No Credit History
Are Retail Stores Risking Your Credit Card Numbers
Discipline Yourself When It Comes To Spending Money
Having No Credit Is Worse Than Having Bad Credit
Learn How To Stop Collection Agencies From Harassing You
More Reasons Not To Close Older Open Credit Accounts
Timing Is Important When Negotiating A Settlement With The Bank
Tips To Help You Negotiate With A Creditor
Using Local Merchants To Help Get Good Marks On Your Credit Report
What Marks Should I Accept On My File From A Creditor?

< Back to more recent credit repair articles

You may also be interested in our Finance articles.