[sniplet SMR-2011-Update]

Resolution #7:
I want to keep my personal finances better organized.

Though I write a lot about managing your personal finances, I often slip-up when it comes to managing my own personal finances. For example, some time back, I wrote a series on organizing your finances. These thoughts originally arose from a personal need for organizing my own personal finances. Though I did complete some of these steps, there’s a whole lot that I didn’t do. So, in 2011, I’d like to organize my personal finances better.

Here’s what I specifically want to do:

• Get rid of financial clutter. I’ve done this successfully in the past but of late have let a couple of things creep in again. I have a current account into which reimbursements were credited by my previous employer but this account is no longer of any use. This account doesn’t financially justify its existence and hence needs to go. Another thing that I’d like to really get rid of is my defunct LIC Jeevan Anand policy.

Update: Closed that legacy and unused current account. Got rid of that LIC Jeevan Anand Policy. I closed two other Savings Bank Accounts that I hadn’t used in over 10-years as well. Bye bye personal finance junk. Seriously, goodbye!

• Create and maintain a master information document. Once I’m rid of all that clutter, I’ll know what my true financial assets are. I’d like to create a master information document that details all of my true financial assets. The purpose behind this document is to have a ready and up-to-date reference available at all times and which can be directly reused at a later time (say when I need to create a will).

Update: Started but not finished.

• Get my nominations in place. Once I create my master information document, I’ll know which of my financial assets have nominations that are either outdated or are completely missing. From personal experience, I can advise that for every financial asset that you own make sure that you have a nomination in place. And for someone who writes about personal finance, not having my nominations in place is honestly unacceptable!

Update: Started but not finished.

• Put together my personal finances folder. I did get started on this task this year but got sidetracked quickly. I think this folder will be most effective if I do this simultaneously as I build my master information document — what I write in the master information document should be backed by physical documents in the folder.

Update: Started but not finished. I have everything in the folder but it’s not synchronized with the Master Information Document.

I think this is a broad enough framework to capture everything that I need to about my personal finances. But the real challenge, as they say, lies in execution. When done though, I will have everything that I need to have about my personal finances in one place.

What do you think? Any suggestions?