ICE

Maybe you already knew this, but ICE is an acronym for In Case of an Emergency. I just learned this not too long ago. (I'm a little slow) Apparently, you should have an ICE number on your cell phone. Well today I have been working on an ICE folder. Since I handle most financials at our house, get the mail, pay the bills, etc. I sometimes worry that if anything happened to me, would Steve be able to figure everything out? We always discuss our finances, so I am sure he would. However, I imagine that if I was unable to handle those things, something incredibly stressful would probably be happening at our house. And maybe this folder would help. An ICE folder would be a place where someone could look and find all the vital information they would need in case something happened to me, Steve, or the both of us. There is a great article in the NY Times about getting your documents together in case of a natural disaster, but the same information can be used for "hit by a bus" scenario. If you read it, don't let it overwhelm you. This is what is going to be in my ICE Folder: (for now)

• Information about reaccuring bills we receive, how we receive them (for example some of our bills are automatically deducted, some received in the mail, and one even by email)the amount the bill usually is and when its due.
• Employment information
• Where to find important documents such as: Life insurance, Wills, SS cards, birth certificates, passports, etc.
• Retirement and Life Insurance information
• Account information for Checking and Savings
• Usernames and hints for passwords since I use online banking, bill pay, etc.

This is just start. Who knows maybe I will even get technical (since that is Steve's expertise) and have it all digital someday. Maybe. Someday