I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you’re going to die. We all are. In just 100 years EVERYONE READING THIS will be dead. Unless there is like some super healthy baby with a family history of longevity reading this, then I guess there’s a decent chance you’ll be alive in 100 years. Way to go baby.

But for the rest of us, we’re gonna die. And it would be nice if we could not make our death WORSE on our family by leaving behind a financial mess for them to clean up. If YOU were to unexpectedly die tomorrow, would your loved ones know how to get to all of your stuff? Your bank accounts? Insurance policies? Debts? Access to your home and car? Access to your devices and accounts? Do you have a will letting everyone know where you want your stuff to go?

My solution to that is a dead box! I personally keep mine in Google Drive. It’s just a folder where I throw in all sorts of important documents. And I wrote a letter to my family apologizing for my untimely death and explaining how to access my millions of dollars. I implicitly trust my family, so I have already shared it with them. If you don’t, you may need to figure out a different plan or work with a lawyer to hold the keys to your dead box.

I also set a calendar event for every January. It has instructions on how to update my dead box and a reminder to send my brother brief instructions on how to access it. If I die and they can’t find my dead box or it’s horribly out of date, then what’s the point?!

So I hope YOU PERSONALLY don’t die for many many decades. But just like bringing an umbrella means it’s NOT going to rain, maybe making a dead box means you’re not going to kick the bucket. So might as well be prepared!

As always, reminding you to build wealth by following the two PFC rules: 1.) Live below your means and 2.) Invest early and often.

-Jeremy