Dear Dr. Per Cap
Our family is thrilled with December’s big per cap! I’m told it’s a record but I wouldn’t know because I don’t keep track of my per cap payments or my son’s in the Minors Trust. Is this ok or should we keep records?
– Mom Wants to Know
Dear Mom Wants to Know
Keeping track of your semi-annual per cap payments is absolutely essential both for yourself and your child for whom payments are deposited into the EBCI Minors Trust Fund. Organization and recordkeeping is the first step to smart money management so hang on to those per cap docs just like statements for a bank account, credit card, or any other financial account.
Unfortunately, many people think that in today’s fast paced high tech world they can get away without maintaining personal financial records and rely on account providers to fulfill that role. Some adults also figure they can calculate their own per cap payments when necessary by going through old tax returns. But why make it hard on yourself?
For the kiddos the EBCI Finance Department mails account statements that provide a child’s per capita contributions to date as well as interest earned. That’s great, especially now that statements are mailed quarterly instead of once a year.
But nevertheless, you always want to maintain your own records in case there’s ever a question about a payment, account balance, or deduction. Hopefully, you’ll never have an issue but if you do – trust me. You’ll be happy you took the time to keep your own records.
Every family member eligible to receive per cap should get a check stub or direct deposit stub in the mail each June and December. Store them in a safe place as either hard copies or digital files. It’s easy to make a digital file. Just run the stub through a scanner or snap a photo with your phone. Then, make sure the payment stubs and other statements are filed in the order they are received and password protected if digital.
Finally, create a log to enter the information for each payment. Date of issue, Advice number, gross pay, deductions (if any), and net pay should all be included on the log along with a running total of all payment amounts. This way you’ll know for yourself when per cap breaks a new record!
Click here for a handy log you can use to record your per cap payments using an Excel spreadsheet or print a worksheet to fill out by hand if you prefer a hard copy.
Happy per cap and congrats to the Eastern Band on a great year!
Ask Dr. Per Cap – EBCI Money Smart is brought to you by Sequoyah Fund and Shawn Spruce Consulting. For more information, visit www.sequoyahfund.org. To send a question to Dr. Per Cap, email agoyopi@gmail.com.