Get Organized! Simple ways to get your financial life in order

With a new year just beginning, it is the perfect time to organize your financial life. Unorganization can cost you missed tax deductions, unnecessary late fees and huge overdraft charges.

Identify what to keep

Experts recommend throwing out credit card receipts and ATM receipts after one month, or after you have seen the charges on your bank statement. Keep utility bills, paycheck stubs, credit card and bank statements for one year. You should keep the following for 7 years: receipts for big-ticket items, tax returns, year-end bank statements, and brokerage statements. Finally, keep these documents indefinitely: medical records, mortgage-related papers, and insurance policies.

Create a filing system

Once you've figured out what you need to keep, set up a workable filing system so that you can easily find your documents. The simpler the system, the more likely that you'll keep up with it. Sort your papers into categories; for example, bills, receipts, credit cards, bank statements and so on. Then put each grouping into a separate folder.

Safeguard important papers

Some documents are too important to be thrown into a folder. A safe-deposit box is generally the best place to keep your marriage and birth certificates, titles and deeds, stocks, bonds and CDs. Contact your local branch if you would like to open a safe deposit box.

Once you create an easy financial filing system, plan some time each week to pay bills, shred unnecessary documents and file papers. Small steps toward organizing your financial life will help you to pay bills on time and locate important papers at the last minute.