401(k)s Will Be Gone Within a Decade

[Jarlaxle]

Here is a strategy that was suggested by our insurance agent (we have home, auto, and an umbrella).

Do an initial "inventory" of the house:

• Make a note of any electronics (computers, TV, audio equipment, Kitchen Appliances, etc.) include make/model/serial number. Include date of purchase and cost if you have it.
• Make note of any other high value items. Include specific's where needed manufacturer, model, etc. Include date of purchase and cost if you have it.
• Then take a digital camera and do a "photoshoot" of the house. Room by room, section by section. Include closets, dressers drawers, kitchen, bedrooms, garage, book cases, etc. You want to use a good quality camera (and ya, modern cell phones are pretty good).

After you have the "data", put in in a Word Document or Excel Spreadsheet. Take the inventory list and the photos and keep a local copy - and here is the important part - keep a copy outside the home. It could be with parents, siblings, or even online storage. Someplace that if the house burns down you still have access to the files. This might take a day or two initially.

Once a year have some type of reminder event that keys your action. Could be policy renewal, when you do your taxes, your birthday, etc. Whatever works for you. Since you already have an initial list this will be much faster.

• Review your high value tracking item, delete items you no longer have, add items that may have appeared over the last year.
• Do another photo walk around.
• Create a new folder for the new electronic files (tracking document and photos), and keep the old ones don't delete them, then put the backups in place.

We live on the east coast to hurricanes are a thing. We keep a "go bag" of important papers. In the event of a major evacuation I have copies of the electronic files (a) on my desktop, (b) on a memory stick, (c) and with a family member that lives with the west coast. If the house burns down or gets blown down, my wife and I have access to an inventory with photos for insurance purposes.

And it really doesn't take that long. After creating the initial list (which took awhile), I can now do the walk around and update in a couple of hours. Remember the intent isn't a "Home and Gardens" modeling shoot, it's an inventory shoot. The photos don't have to be pretty, they just need to be of good quality so you can zoom in and see what is in the frame.

WW

I did this...and dropped my contents insurance. Very simply, most of my stuff simply isn't worth much. The really important stuff, I can't replace most of it at any price.