I am the “nerd” in our family, so I pay our bills and manage our investments.
(Here’s a post about how I avoid arguing with my spouse about money. My wife is awesome, but she’s not all that interested in the “mechanics” of our finances.)
Every three of four months, I create a Financial Inventory Worksheet for my wife. I keep one copy at home and one copy at my office. The worksheet allows me to keep track of various accounts, balances, and passwords. I print out the inventory worksheet and fill it out by hand. If something were to happen to me (injury, death, etc.), my wife would have access to all account information. I always “date” the worksheet and include an estimated balance for each account.
–
Oh yeah. I make sure that I don’t just leave this piece of paper lying around the house. Seriously, a piece of paper with bank account numbers and passwords could potentially be misused.
| Account | Account Number | Telephone | Website | User Name | Password | Balance |
| Date This Document Was Created: |
Here’s a post I wrote a few months ago, entitled “What If I Die?”. Not my favorite topic, to be sure. But, these are things for which we must prepare.
5 Responses
Moneymonk
March 22nd, 2007 at 10:56 am
1Wow~ 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
Kirby on Finance
March 22nd, 2007 at 11:38 am
2NCN, 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.
NCN
March 22nd, 2007 at 12:39 pm
3Kirby..
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…
2007 - No Credit Needed Year-End Review (March)
December 13th, 2007 at 5:32 am
4[...] 22 - Financial Inventory Worksheet For My Spouse - What would happen to my family if I were to die or be injured? The last thing I want my wife to [...]
Rejuvenated And Ready To Rock: 10 Steps For Getting Back On Track
May 29th, 2008 at 12:16 am
5[...] Five: I logged into all of my accounts and updated my Financial Inventory. At first, I created this as a resource that my wife could use, if something were to happen to [...]
RSS feed for comments on this post · TrackBack URI
Leave a reply