i have a file cabinet!!!

[CATsAngel]

now how should i sort and divide all the papers??

[Csara]

I highly recommend this book (http://www.hometalkers.com/shop/shop.cgi?input_string=smart+couples+finish+rich&input_mode=books) to help you get organized with important papers/documents, finances, saving, etc. It is awesome. DH and I read it exactly as they tell you to. For example, he would read chapter 1, then I would read chapter 1 and we would discuss it. We did the same for every chapter and at the end of the book is a big worksheet. We went through it, but didn't complete it....too complicated. LOL! They do, however, have an awesome system on how and what to file. We actually bought this book for his parents and a few of our friends. It's really that good!! Anyway, some of the categories that I can think of off-hand (and not in the correct order) as far as filing goes were: household bills (i.e. water, electric, cable, phone, internet), insurance (health, home, car), stocks/bonds/mutual funds, bank accounts, credit cards, IRA, car payments, business expenses (if relevant), medical bills/records, taxes.........that's all I can come up with right now. You can add/delete categories as necessary, ofcourse. I'm sure when you start going through your papers, you will get an idea of what exactly you need to be keeping track of. Have fun! It is really nice to have all your important stuff organized. :nod:

[scully]

I suggest you file things where you would think to look for them. We have a section for household bills which is then subdivided into each bill- electricity, phone etc. We have another for insurance-subdivided into health, car etc another for IRS and tax related items, another for bank related itemsagain subdivided into my checking, DH checking and our joint savings. Basically if you are going to be the one to use it then just file things in a way that is logical to you.