PERSONAL SPECIAL .... Organise your paperwork

Organise your paperwork

Avoid confusion by storing and managing your documents in a systematic manner.

Do you have a drawer full of receipts, policies and bills waiting to be sorted and filed? Have you ago nised over which documents to throw and which to retain?
If you answered `yes' to the above questions, you probably hate the tedious paperwork. This summer, however, force yourself to take out a few hours and de-clutter your paperwork. Here's how to get started.

HOW TO CATEGORISE

First, segregate your documents through a simple two-step process.In the first step, identify a temporary place where you can store them as and when you get the bills, receipts, prescriptions, etc. Most people tend to stuff them in a drawer or keep them at random places across the house and never get around to sorting them. This leads to the inevitable chaos when a particular document is required. To avoid this, keep two boxes in an easily accessible place.Use the first one to store the day-today shopping, dining and entertainment bills and receipts, fuel bills, etc. Use the second box for documents you are likely to need in the longer term, say bank or credit card statements, medical receipts, utility bills, insurance or house rent receipts.

The second step involves shifting the papers in the temporary storage to a more organised area, with all the documents placed in separate folders under different heads. You can arrange the folders alphabetically, or colour code them, or simply list them according to the frequency of access. Do this periodically, say, on the first Sunday of every month, prompting yourself by setting an alarm. Here are some heads under which you can store your papers:

Taxation (returns, acknowledge ment, Form 16, related bills, re ceipts, bank documents, etc).

Insurance (life, health, vehicle, oth er covers).

Banking (statements, credit card literature).

Investments (stocks, mutual funds, term deposits, PPF, small savings schemes, bonds).

Loans (home, vehicle, personal).

House (sale, purchase, rent agreements).

Estate planning (will, power of attorney, trust deed).

Medical records (tests, prescriptions).

Employment (offer letters, increment letters).

Home appliances (warranty cards, manuals).

Personal (Aadhaar card, PAN card, voter ID card, passport, birth death marriage certificates, mark sheets, etc).

WHERE TO STORE & HOW TO DISPOSE OF

You can store documents in the physical form or online, depending on the relevance of each. The duration for which you retain them? It is as important since you would not want to throw away important documents or hoard the irrelevant ones.

Getting rid of the unwanted papers in the right manner is crucial for financial security. So cut up your expired credit cards as well as bank deposit slips or any other documents that carry critical personal or finan

cial information as this is one of the easiest means of hacking and identity theft. Make sure you cut the papers in a way that passwords or account numbers are incomplete.

Physical storage

Cupboard: Keep a separate cupboard, preferably a steel one, or a section of the cupboard, for stacking all the above-mentioned folders neatly and in an accessible manner.

Safety vault: You can also buy a small safe for keeping the more important documents like personal or taxation ones. Make sure the safe is fireand water-resistant.

Bank locker: Critical documents like a will or loan papers, to which you do not need frequent access, can also be kept in a bank locker.

Document management service: Companies such as Kleeto.in provide facilities for physical as well as online storage of documents for a small fee.The physical documents are stored in warehouses in various layers for protection and indexed for easy access.It also provides pick-up and drop facilities and the papers can be delivered within 2-3 days.

Online storage

Computer: Ths is the easiest option, wherein you scan and upload the documents on your computer or laptop. The downside is that you may lose them if the computer crashes. To be safe, store these in a hard drive.

Bank e-locker: Currently, only one bank, ICICI Bank, offers this service.You can log in through Net banking or ICICI Direct account. The free service allows storage of 1 GB and lets you create folders, scan and upload files, but you need to maintain a monthly average balance in your account.There are private e-lockers as well, such as ITRVault.in, which allow you to store taxation documents online.

Cloud storage: Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive and Dropbox offer free storage, with limits of 15 GB, 5 GB and 2 GB, respectively. There are paid versions for greater storage, and you can access them on your smartphone. All you need to do is have an account, register and log in. While Google Drive is pre-installed with Gmail account, OneDrive is inbuilt with Microsoft e-mail account. The downside is that these are governed by US cyberlaws on security and it may be hard to seek redressal in case of hacking or loss of data.

DigiLocker: This is the Indian government initiative and is a good option because it offers legal protection under the IT Act 2000. However, the space offered is only 10 MB though it will be expanded to 1 GB eventually.You can access the site at https:digilocker.gov.in and can sign in and register using your Aadhaar ID. It also offers e-signing and verification facility, and allows other government agencies to share documents with you.

MONITOR & UPDATE

Getting the papers organised doesn't end your job. Sift through the folders periodically--monthly, half-yearly or annually--and take action as and when required.

Insurance: In a separate diary, note down the details of all your insurance policies, with premium due dates, renewal and maturity dates, and keep it with the folder. In case of any lifestage changes--birth, death, retirement--increase or decrease the life or health cover at least 45 days before the renewal date. If you have traditional plans, calculate the maturity amount. If it is unlikely to beat inflation and you are too far from maturity date, surrender the plans. Also make sure that you have appointed a nominee in all your policies.

Banking: If you haven't linked your Aadhaar card to the bank account, do so now (see Tasks to do now). Throw away deposit slips, old cheque books and credit card literature. Opt for Net banking to do away with physical statements and cut down on branch visits to reduce the hiked service charges. If you have fixed deposits, note the maturity date and close it or renew in line with your debt allocation at that stage.

Taxation: Link your PAN card with Aadhaar at the earliest. Make sure to seek Form 16 and all other documents you need for filing returns a month before the 31 July deadline.

Investments: Monitor your mutual fund and stock portfolio every six months or one year and if the performance has not been up to the mark for more than four quarters, get rid of them. Check your KYC status and update if necessary. Also appoint nominees, if you haven't done so already.In case of small savings schemes, check if the interest rate change will affect your corpus drastically and shift to higher rate options.

Loans: Given the recent fall in home loan rates, check if you are paying a high rate and, if yes, shift to a new lender at the earliest. Prepay expensive loans at the earliest.

Estate planning: Finally, write down a simple will on a plain paper after carrying out due diligence and keep it in a bank locker or upload it online.

RIJU DAVE

ETM 12JUN17