Baby boomers: organizing personal finances now

Are you trying to plan for your own retirement, or deal with a senior citizen's tangled finances? Are your insurance, bank and stock or IRA account numbers "somewhere" in a mound of papers - maybe?
Maybe you are wondering how to get a replacement birth certificate for your senior citiizen, or for yourself.

An easy way to get organized financially is through the Financial Overview Template. Use this easy template to write down as much information as you can find now.  Then, be sure to print a hard copy of it, which you can get to if needed, if the electricity goes out.    Later, add the rest of the data, bit by bit, as you locate it or as it arrives in the mail or online. (As your information changes over time, you can update it easily.)

Some of the information may be easy to find, such as birthdates and the name and contact information of a particular accountant, doctor or dentist. Other information such as insurance account numbers and who to call in the event of a claim may take more work; if you can't find these, contact the company or wait for an update from them.

The pages online can be password-protected, and you can keep a copy of this on a password-protected flash-drive with you, handy in case of an emergency such as an unexpected trip to the hospital, evacuation or other disaster.

If you use the services of a financial planner or financial planning software, use this information from your various accounts or those of your parent (or other senior citizen) to prepare before your next visit. By visiting the website of each company and putting in the account number, you can determine the value of each account; write it and the date when this value was announced so you can report this to the financial planner.

The pay-off for this will be a serene sense of financial organization and confidence; you will be able to find  the data you need, when you need it. Just think: your account numbers will finally be easily accessible to you. Your knowledge of your benefits and what they cover, your retirement information, and many other details will be quickly available, too. Imagine how wonderful that will feel! Get the Financial Overview Template now, and be prepared with knowledge of your finances before you need it next!