Get Organized With This Simple Yet Efficient Record Keeping & Filing System
Staying organized and on track is very important when you are trying to boost your credit score. There are a wide variety of details to follow up and you are bound to miss a few of them. There are credit repair software systems in the market which profess to be able to help you with enhancing your credit report scores but they do not come cheap. Some credit repair companies require that you purchase a service package together with the credit repair software kit. Yet there are some which simply sell the credit repair kit with minimal amounts of follow through services. But there are a few basic organization tips which could help to ensure that you do not overlook anything that can cost you your good credit score.
Record Keeping.
First stop to getting organized is to ensure that your keep all your financial records including tax records in one place. The benefit of keeping your financial information in one place allows you easy reference and gives you the big picture of where and how to start repairing the credit and financial gaps. Note on the bills the dates at which you paid your bills. Understand where and how much you owe money, by keeping full and updated records of your credit accounts.
Key Documents To Be Kept Within Your Financial Folder.
There are certain basic documents, static and current, which you should keep and constantly update within your financial folder. It would be more functional to have several files within your financial folder for respective categories as below.
Bills File should include both outstanding and paid bills, namely for utilities, phone, gasoline and other monthly or regularly occurring bills etc. You should keep paid bills for at least 6 months to enable reference.
Credit Report File should include a list of credit lender and banker contacts, key credit reporting bureaus which you have dealt with in the past and currently, clearly documenting all processes of negotiating your financial and banking matters. This file should also include credit articles and pamphlets etc.
Financial Planning File includes your financial plan which maps your financial goals, all your financial investments and insurance such as retirement plans, all personal insurance policies, beneficiary nomination forms, changes to insurance policies and annual insurance statements etc. This file should also include all investment agreements, investment related information, both existing and potential investments. You must have a written emergency or contingency plan, detailing what you should do in case of sudden loss of job or other foreseeable issues. Tax receipts and other related documents are also kept within this file for easy reference.
Personal Hard Asset File would include deeds to your assets like your home, other investment properties if any, mortgage documents, property tax documents, rental income receipts if any and existing loan installment statements etc as well as any hard assets such as cars and insurance, and other personal assets like antique coin, stamps and memorabilia collections.
Once you have instituted your filing system, keep up the good habit to continue filing the additional documents as you receive them. Your pain is only one time and with consistent discipline in maintaining this good filing habit, you will never regret the handy references within your financial folders.
It is important to note that whichever credit repair software or manual adjustments you eventually choose to utilize to correct your credit scores, you need easy to refer, comprehensive and well archived documentation at your finger tips. This above filing system will help you segment the relevant types of financial documents ready for reference any time you need to negotiate with your credit officers or review your personal investments.
Joey Lee is a CFP and MBA with 17 years of banking, financial, business & marketing experience and a Platinum Ezine Author. Learn authentic Credit Repair skills and comprehensive information on Credit Repair Tips, credit reports, credit scores at CreditRepairSkills.org
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