Get Your Act Together

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Get Your Act Together
Record Organization Made Easy
Revised 2006
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Your County Your Name Family and Consumer
Sciences Educating People to Help Themselves
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To gain the knowledge and skills required to

• Organize and store personal and financial records
• Create a net worth statement
• Make a comprehensive list of creditors
• Develop a personal property inventory
• Protect your personal identity

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Why Keep Records?

• Tax preparation
• In case of crisis
• For proof of payment
• For proof of ownership
• For protection
• Its the sensible thing to do

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Financial Records

• Help Determine
• Where you are
• Where youve been
• Where youre headed

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Options for Keeping Records

• The best way is the one that works for you
• Simple handwritten records
• Sophisticated computer programs

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Think about a Master List

• To rely less on recall and memory
• To have a record of advisors for advice and
  periodic evaluation
• To help survivors locate important papers
• To provide a useful summary of
  your financial situation

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Set Up a Business CenterA desk and file
cabinet or just a simple cardboard box will do.
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Where to keep records?

• In Your Wallet
• drivers license
• personal identification
• health insurance card
• name of doctor and person to call in case of
  accident
• card showing medical problems
• credit cards
• membership cards

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Where to keep records?

• At Home
• Personal papers,
  Family Records
• Property Records
• Financial Records

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Where to keep records?

• In a Safe Deposit Box
• title and bill of sale
• certificates birth, death,
  marriage, divorce, etc.
• contracts, notes and debts
• personal property inventory
• list of records in home file
• list of insurance policy names
• and numbers
• government or court recorded
  documents
• copy of will
• leases and deeds

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Good Records will help you with ...

• Family budget/spending plan
• Net worth statement
• Personal property inventory
• Credit card safety record
• Reducing the threat of identity theft

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Identity Theft is the fastest growing type of
crime today.
Are You A Target?
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What Do Thieves Get?

• Your credit and debit cards
• Your credit and debit
  account numbers
• Blank checks and/or your bank
  account number
• Your address and phone
  number
• Your phone account numbers

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What Do Thieves Get?

• Other personal information such as
• Social Security number
• Drivers License number and
  MVA information
• Investment and other financial
  information
• Pre-approved credit card applications

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How Does It Happen?
Thieves Steal

• Wallets and purses
• Mail
• bank cards statements
• new checks
• checks owed to you
• pre-approved credit offers
• phone bills
• Trash

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How Does It Happen?

• Thieves also use practices such as
• Pretexting
• Phishing
• Skimming
• Inside Sources

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What Can You Do To Prevent Identity Theft?

• Pay attention to billing cycles. Follow up with
  creditors if bills dont arrive on time
• Guard your mail from theft both
  outgoing and incoming

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What Can You Do To Prevent Identity Theft?

• Put passwords on your credit cards, bank
  and phone accounts
• Make passwords random
• Carry only credit cards, checks and papers
  you will need

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What Can You Do To Prevent Identity Theft?

• Keep personal information in a safe
  place
• Try to use other forms of identification besides
  your Social Security number
• Order a copy of your credit report yearly
  and check for accuracy

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What Can You Do To Prevent Identity Theft?

• Dont give out personal information over the
  phone, by mail or on-line unless you know who you
  are dealing with

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What Can You Do To Prevent Identity Theft?

• Tear up or shred personal information before
  putting it in the trash

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Contact Credit Bureaus

• 3 Major Credit Bureaus
• Equifax
• Experian
• Transunion
• www.annualcreditreport.com
• 1-877-322-8228

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Specialty Consumer Reports (1 free report, from
each, annually)

• Medical Information Bureau Reports
• www.mib.com/html
• C.L.U.E., Employment History and Tenant History
  Reports
• www.choicetrust.com
• Auto-Property Loss Reports
• www.iso.com

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What to Do if Youre a Victim

• Place a fraud alert on your credit report
• Close accounts that have been tampered with or
  opened fraudulently
• File a report with your local police
• File a complaint with the Federal Trade
  Commission

www.ftc.gov 1-877-FTC-HELP (382-4357)
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In the case of Identity Theft, an ounce of
prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Clearing your good name from identity theft may
take Two to Three Years.
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Personal Property Inventory Whats In It for
YOU?
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What is a Personal Property Inventory?

• It is a listing of
• your household possessions and
• important information or
• documentation about those possessions.

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Why Prepare a Personal Property Inventory?

• For insurance purposes
• To prove ownership of property
• For income tax purposes
• For net worth statement
• For replacement cost planning

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Helpful Tips

• 1. Talk to your insurance agent before you start.
• 2. Concentrate on one room at a time.
• 3. Consider a hand-written or computerized
  inventory.

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Helpful Tips

• 4. Try color photographs.
• 5. Attach sticky notes important facts.

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Helpful Tips

• 6. Consider videotaping.
• 7. Appraise special items.
• 8. Carry additional insurance.

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Helpful Tips

• 9. Update your personal property inventory at
  least once a year.
• ENJOY THE PEACE OF MIND!

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Inactive Files
Bank records and canceled checks for the past
7-10 years Income taxes - forms, schedules
and supporting data for past 3
- 10 years
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How long to keep records
www.irs.gov for more information
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Disaster proof your life

• Prepare a grab-and-go box
• Make a contact list
• Prepare a household inventory
• Meet with your advisors

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Disaster proof your life

• Update your plans
• Have a backup
• Evaluate storage solutions carefully

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Get Your Act Together
Record Organization Made Easy
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Your County Your Name Family and Consumer
Sciences Educating People to Help Themselves