Prepare for the best: get your house in order to improve everyday life

We too often read about how to prepare for the worst. The fact is that being well-prepared for every day helps reduce friction and stress, even when the sun is shining and your family is in good health.

That’s why we’re believers in getting your house in order proactively – not just so that you have the docs and information you need in case your house catches fire or you slip and fall, but so that when it's time to renew your car's registration or apply for a new passport, these everyday tasks are easier than ever.

And of course, if you get your affairs in order and keep life organized while the sky is blue, should the worst happen, you’ll be better positioned to navigate the unexpected.

Instead of worrying about managing it all, start thinking about what’s next

It can be daunting to try to figure out what the best way to organize your finances may be, so don’t begin with that question. Instead, start simple.

Look at the next week, month, and year of your life:

• What events are on the horizon? Weddings? Graduations? Buying or selling a home?
• What administrative tasks will you need to take care of in the next week, month, and year? Are there certain people you need to contact?
• What are you most worried about during each of these time periods? What’s gone wrong in the past? What information do you still need to gather? What processes don’t you understand?

As you look at your answers, consider what documents or information you could assemble today to make navigating these events easier or at least less stressful.

Then, you’re ready to start making a list of all the things you need to catalogue. Be sure to include where each of your assets and accounts is located and note any information that you’ll need a password or a security protocol to access.

But don’t get ahead of yourself – if you want to get your house in order, your next step is to make a plan.

Make a plan to organize your documents and the stuff of your life

To organize your life and keep your life organized, don’t try to tackle it all at once. Your life is too complicated and too big to compile and collate in one afternoon.

So, with your list in hand, make a plan for how you will organize and file all the stuff of your life. It may be easiest to start with the smallest unit and work your way up.

Whether you choose to think of that unit as a day that builds into weekly, monthly, and annual obligations or that smallest unit is one of your monthly bills, begin with a system that makes sense to you and that can also be easily accessed or understood by anyone who might need to support you in a time of need.

At this point, you’ll also need to start thinking about where you’ll store your most important items, and that’s where a secure digital vault like Prisidio comes in.

Put your most important things in a secure place where they can be easily located

The stuff of your life exists in two places: the physical world and the digital realm. For most of us, some documents are located in both places, but they may be difficult to locate. (Hello, electricity bill sitting on the counter although the bill is already scheduled for automatic payment online.)

So, as you begin to consider your storage options, think about…

• Where it’s located.
• How to access it (including details about any key, password, or permissions required).
• How someone else could access your stuff in the event that you can’t.

In a recent survey, we found that nearly 60 percent of respondents store their most important physical documents in a filing cabinet and only 15 percent rely on a safe deposit box located outside their home.

So, if you haven’t yet found the right secure solution to help you get your life organized, you’re not alone. But there are options available to you today that will help you manage your life and ensure that the right people can access your important documents and information if and when they need to.