Separate AtoZ for financial/ important personal papers??

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From a GTD view point--please tell me the best practice, or assist with pros and cons of filing the following so they are retrievable quickly and like-items can be added quickly, and when needed, all related items are readily found so that none are forgotten. Should these be put in the big A to Z file with everythng else? Or should FINANCIAL and PERSONAL maybe have their own drawers or sections? Then, once that is decided, how should they be filed? Let's say you have statements from several credit cards--Option 1:Purely alphabetical by name of company (e.g. Eddie Bauer, Home Depot, Money-One). Option 2: By double heading and alphabetical within: Credit Cards: Eddie Bauer, Credit Cards: Home Depot, Credit Cards: Money-One) or Option Three:a triple heading Financial: Credit Cards: Eddie Bauer? Second, very important personal papers such as birth certificates,copies of wills, passports, transcripts, professional certificates for various family members--by name of person, the item? I fear putting these in A to Z along with such things as Airlines, Computers we own, Computers we want, Laws effecting the business I work in, articles on Motion sickness etc. down to Zoos( I want to keep it simple and A to Z is thus far a real blessing, but my memory is really poor and i might forget the category or its "siblings".
 
Jamie:
In the CD of the Seminar, DA suggests spinning off a separate filing drawer for things like you have suggested. I have a separate filing drawer (within arms' reach of my computer) for credit card and bank files, since I reference these when working on Quicken. This is separate from the file cabinet in the corner, which contains everything else.

If you do that, I don't see the need for a double- or triple-heading, as the top heading your considering (i.e. credit card, or financial) would apply to everything in the drawer anyway.
 
Even though I'm just starting out with GTD, I'm finding it easier to maintain a simple A - Z reference system. It avoids having to worry about "gray" items. For example, where would 401(k) stuff go? You might initially think it belongs in your Financial drawer, but really, how often do you look at your 401(k) stuff? Filing it under General Reference might make sense in that case. Same goes for medical claims, utility bills, etc. You could make an argument about putting those things in either location, so I'm just gonna put everything in one system and be done with it.

With one exception: I have a safe that gets all my REALLY important stuff....Archived tax returns, birth and marriage certs, receipts I want to keep forever, home inventory, PC backups, etc.

Jason
 
I have one file drawer that holds personal/family/home stuff... including financial folders (Credit accounts, bank statements, kid's school stuff, receipts, appliance booklets, etc.)

Another file cabinet has two drawers, and that one holds all business related files. These include receipts, subscriptions, credit accounts, and so on, as well as various reference materials.

The critical documentation: birth/death certs, ss cards, titles, etc. are in a special binder which has it's own spot in my office.

Kathy
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http://www.ElectronicPerceptions.com
 
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