Family Matters is all that matters.

Family Matters. Pun intended! Family does matter. The ongoing pandemic has proved it to most of us in several ways.

We at SAvings – the financial division of SudeepAudio.com, have designed a booklet that will help you store your personal and invaluable information in a very simple and organised manner. It is called FAMILY MATTERS.

This “record keeper” is for EVERY individual who has some kind of an asset (property / investments / material goods / online user IDs, etc.) in his or her name – anywhere in the world! And it is upto you what data you want to fill in. The more details you mention, the better it will be for your family.

It is not meant to scare you, or remind you, about a certain event each one of us will face… “death”. Well, actually it is 😉

But more than anything else, it is THAT little red book or black diary, which will organise all your important personal information even when you are alive and well. The document will empower every individual and more so their family, with critical information one needs eventually. And the right time to download and complete the Family Matters booklet is NOW.

Family Matters is available as a well-designed pdf by our colleague Jigna Shah Oza (Mumbai), and also as an easy to use Microsoft Excel sheet, designed by musician and IT expert Deepak Ananth (Pune). And they are available to purchase as 3 options at a nominal cost!

Note: FM Medical and FM Essentials is available only as a pdf version. FM COMPLETE is available in both pdf and excel versions. If you buy FM Complete, then FM Essential need not be purchased. FM Medical is an independent organiser tool.

Who should use the Family Matters pdf booklet(s)?

If you are comfortable in filling up and keeping a hand-written hard copy of your personal and asset information, then this is highly recommended. Just ensure that the writing is legible and complete.
The pdf versions have contents as mentioned on the website. A front and back print will help save paper. You can choose “Fit to Page” in your printer settings and take a printout on A4 size paper too. However, Legal size gives more breathing space to the data entry.

Another useful thing to do is to insert photocopies of important documents like mediclaim policy, MF statements, IDs like Aadhar, PAN, GST, etc. punched and filed in their appropriate sections within Family Matters. This will make the whole document the go-to file for any info you need, at any point in time.

Also make sure you keep your printed booklet in a safe place known to your close family aide.

Who should use the FM Excel version (available in FM COMPLETE only)?

FM COMPLETE is available in both pdf and excel versions, when purchased. During making of this booklet, we found that many wanted to store their data electronically on their local computer. Making the product into an app or an online service was ruled out as many of us will not be comfortable sharing such important information on any cloud or online server. Hence, we decided to make it into a Microsoft Excel sheet that you can store locally on your computer. Ofcourse, if you still fear that your machine can be hacked by someone, then please use the pdf print-out option.

Those who are comfortable using the Excel sheet (with multiple colour-coded sections in it), should use it. Additionally, you can make a special folder on your computer and keep scanned copies of all your important documents along with the FM excel sheet.

However, please make sure that you store the excel sheet in a location that a close confidant in your family knows about. Plus, if you password protect it, do share that password with only those who you trust. Else your whole effort would be wasted.

As an added safety measure, keep a backup of the completed sheet on another hard drive. In short, just don’t lose it 🙂

So without any kind of worry or a thought like we are going to live for another XYZ years:
1. Simply go ahead, buy and download your own Family Matters booklet(s).
2. Print the downloaded pdf on Legal / A4 paper.
3. Fill it up carefully (this would take you some days, if not weeks. But do not postpone it any further.)
4. Store your document carefully (tip: keep a backup once filled).
5. Do share this effort with other friends and relatives to help them spread the cause, designed for one and all, at a nominal purchase price.