money map

Also called: family money map

A one-page list of a household's accounts, cards, debts, policies, savings, regular bills, documents and contacts, so others can find and reach the money if you can't act. It never holds PINs, passwords or codes.

A money map answers the questions a family has when the person who runs the money is in hospital, away or worse: what accounts exist and what each pays for, which debts are due and when, which policies protect us and whom to call, where the documents are.

It describes; it doesn't open. Bank, account purpose, due dates, policy numbers and phone lines belong on it. PINs, passwords, one-time codes and full card numbers never do: a lost or photographed map would then open the accounts, and sharing logins usually breaks a bank's rules. Access comes from each adult having their own account, card and buffer.

A map helps only if it's current and someone knows where it is. Update it after every new card, account, loan or policy, review it once a year, and tell your partner and one trusted person outside the home where it lives.

Example

Sam's family map, first page:

Heading	Line
Accounts and cards	Sam's salary card (bank A): rent and kindergarten; wife's card (bank B): groceries; savings (bank C)
Debts	Credit card in Sam's name, bank A; minimum payment by the 25th
Insurance	Life and home policies: insurer, policy number, claims phone
Regular bills	Rent 16,000 by the 5th; kindergarten 4,500 by the 10th
Documents and contacts	Originals in the blue folder; copies with a relative in another city

Common mistakes

Writing secrets on it. A map with a PIN or password is a gift to a thief.
Letting it go stale. A map without the newest loan is wrong exactly where details are least known.
Telling nobody. A map nobody can find doesn't exist for the family.

Learn it in the course

Documents and access: if something happens · A one-page money map, access without shared passwords, and documents your family can find in a hurry.
Case: Sam's family protection checklist · Nine protection options and 1,500 UAH a month: choose what to insure, what to save for, and add fraud rules and a money map.
Money and a partner: joint, separate or both · Splitting shared costs fairly when incomes differ, and a few rules that stop money fights before they start.