I am the financial nerd in our family. I pay the bills and manage our household finances.
Every few months, I update a financial inventory worksheet for my wife. I keep one copy at home and another at my office.
The worksheet – really an inventory of our financial accounts – provides a snapshot of our account balances, website addresses, and passwords.
I print out the inventory and fill it out by hand – but I also keep a digital copy on a secure thumb-drive. I always date the worksheet and include an estimated balance for each account. If something were to happen to me – injury, death, illness – my wife would have easy access to our financial information.
I make sure that I don’t just leave this piece of paper lying around the house. This information could be misused.
| Account | Account Number | Telephone | Website | User Name | Password | Balance |
| Date This Document Was Created: |
My wife and I work together to manage our finances, but since I’m the one that handles the paperwork, I’m the one who fills out the inventory. Here are some thoughts on how we avoid arguing about money – and some thoughts on what would happen if I were to die.
Regularly updating our financial inventory worksheet is a priority. Hopefully, my wife will never need it, but if she does, it will be there.
Wow~ I have the same sheet sealed in an envelope just in case. I told my spouse only open when I die. Mine is a little more detail, more like a will
NCN, I think this is a good idea – but I see some potential problems. I’m sure you’ll think this is silly as would most of your readers, but you’d be shocked how often this becomes an issue. When a couple, for whatever reason, decides to stop dating or become separated if married – it’s not uncommon for one party (usually the one who would be hurt most financially by a divorce or separation) to make off with the others money.
Generally, for someone with a joint bank account, this is as easy as a trip to a bank or now, a click of a button. By doing something like this, you give the other a literally guide of where the money is, how much is there, how to get it, and the logins/passwords to do so. Since it’s a joint account, it’ll be VERY difficult to get any of it back.
I’m not trying to say this is totally a bad idea, but for me, I’d rather see people sit down with their partner each month (and when asked of course) and talk about what’s going on.
Kirby..
I’m a little confused… maybe I didn’t explain everything…
My wife and I sit down, not monthly, but WEEKLY and go over our budget, our finances, etc. The document above simply brings all that information into one place, for easy access. When I say that my wife is not interested in the “mechanics”… I simply mean that she’s not the one who sits down and actually clicks the buttons… But, she CAN. I’m totally transparent with her… Am I saying all of this correctly? My wife is VERY involved in our finances, but I’m the one who goes online and clickity clicks…