My Cure, Day 14: Paperless Office

   Recently, I approached my office with a fierce need to go “paperless’ once & for all. After moving 3 times within a year and a half and using movers each time, I was tired of paying to have my things carted around in boxes without knowing what was even in these boxes… One way to minimize the volume of my things was to go paperless. I opened pandora’s box & began sorting through every piece of paper I had to see if it had a purpose. Student loan statements, bank statements, old paid bills, etc… It was all taking up valuable space.  I began making stacks of similar papers using my entire dining room table.  After every document was sorted & paired with the same vendor (example: electric bills with electric bills) I found the most recent bill in this case & made sure the balance information was correct. I began putting each stack in chronological order & scanned them in giving each a digital file folder so that they were easily accessible.

Once all documents are scanned, most could be shredded & organized into digital files. This is how I organize my paper files that I have to keep.

1. Bills: I like to write “PAID” with a confirmation number on each month”s bill, scan, then shred.

2. Identification Documents: Passport, Birth Certificate, Social Security Card, State ID Card  Have the original & a color scan of each front & back on file.  

3. Taxes: Scan past years taxes along with preparer’s identification & payment information & save in digital file. Keep physical copy of last year’s taxes until you file current year available.

4. Asset appraisals: Scan all asset appraisals and keep original for insurance. Also organize photo paired with receipt of all valuables for insurance purposes.  

Now all documents that I must keep a hardcopy of fit nicely in a small file box. It was once busting at the seams & the accounts inside I let overwhelm me because I did not know where to begin with sorting & paying bills. I have clarity now of all active accounts, what is owed, who to call, where to send the payments. For me, it began with decluttering the physical paper bills to get my financial health in order.