Last year, we met with an attorney and wrote our wills. It forced us to think about a lot of things. Not just who would get our kid(s) and money bills, but a lot of other details, too.
I realized that since I take care of our financial stuff, pay the bills, file everything, etc. that if something were to happen to me, Husband would have a huge learning curve and no clear direction.
So I decided to do something about it. No, I didn’t sit him down and put him through a bill-paying class. Because that would be no fun for either of us.
I compiled a list of our bills and payments, the companies they’re paid to, when they’re due, account numbers, contact information, etc. I keep that in my regular bill-pay notebook, and it’s come in handy several times. It’s also easy to make changes to keep it up to date.
Another list I made was of our professional service providers. People we don’t necessarily pay monthly, but use on a regular basis. Pest control, auto mechanic, attorney, insurance, etc. All pertinent information is listed there too – phone numbers, account numbers, email addresses, etc.
I also made a list of our doctors and other healthcare providers, their names, office locations & numbers, what they do for us, and how long we’ve been patients there. I included our past healthcare providers at the bottom. Since we’ve moved several times and/or switched doctors, it seems I’m always needing to get something from someone. It’s been very handy to have that information at my fingertips instead of having to search for an old business card.
So a sample entry on the lists looks like this: (I formatted them all the same)
Service (Cable, phone, dermatologist, etc.)
Provider name (Cox, AT&T, Dr. So-and-so/clinic name)
Account Rep (if applicable)
Account number, who account is listed under
Address & Phone; email address
Bill due date (or if it’s auto-draft), contract renewal date, etc.
*Notes about what this person/company does for us
I’ll continue telling you about my emergency preparations next week. But for more Works-For-Me-Wednesday, head on over to We Are THAT Family.
Would you come do that for me???
ReplyDeleteIf you don't get it on paper...you will probably be the one that will have to figure it out. Your dad hasn't done it in 33 years - I don't figure he will start. Now that I think about it, there will be a few other things around here that he hasn't done in 33 years that will need doing. Like...picking up his underwear LOL
It's so wonderful that you're doing this. I'm sure that it will be a big help in matters great, G-D forbid, and small.
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to put together something similar - I call it the Keys to the Kingdom. LOL :)
OK, so I need to do this too! Except, in our situation right now, I really am not sure if I know all these things!! haha!! You are super smart!!
ReplyDeleteYou have inspired me. We have a will, but I never thought about the bills and such. Guess I have another thing on my to do list. Thanks :-)
ReplyDeleteBut you are right this should be done. And when your kids are old and they are sifting through all this, they will say WOW, Mom and Dad's mortgage was so cheap and how in the world do they live without such and such. :-)