Contracts and other things with no due date
Broadband and phone contracts, and energy tariffs, move to a higher price when the fixed term ends, so their end dates belong on the list even though nothing is “due”. A flexible spending account balance expires. A passport needs six months’ validity for many destinations, so one that expires in eight months is already a problem for a trip in three. Smoke alarms need testing every month and replacing after ten years. That is the NFPA advice linked below, and we would bet the monthly test is the item on this list that gets done least.
Give yourself time to compare renewal prices
The cadence beside each item is the usual interval. Enter the date the letter or the manual gives; if your dentist says twelve months, the cadence loses. For items with a cadence in months, “Done today” sets the next date from it; press it on the smoke alarm test and the next date is a month from today. Items with no fixed interval, the passport for one, have no “Done today” button and show days left instead, because the only right date is the one printed on the document. The view is 90 days. Any shorter and a yearly renewal shows up too late to compare quotes. Any longer and the list is most of the year.
Items to untick if you rent or do not drive
If you rent, the heating service, the gutters, the dryer vent and the water heater are the landlord’s; untick them and keep the lease end date. If you don’t drive, the whole Vehicle section goes. The FSA balance and the quarterly estimated tax payments are US items. Nothing breaks if you leave an item ticked. The count at the top just stops meaning anything.
Start with the insurance renewals and the passport
The insurance renewals and the passport, because those are the ones with a price for being late. The monthly items can wait. Press “Done today” the next time you do one. Leave a date you don’t know blank rather than guessing it; the policy document or the provider’s account page has it. The checklist only needs the date, never the account number.
Sources
- NFPA: Smoke alarms
This is where the monthly test and the ten-year replacement come from. The ten-year one is the surprise.
- U.S. Department of State: Renew a passport
Adult passports are valid for ten years, children's for five. Many countries require validity beyond your stay.
- FTC: Free credit reports
It explains how to get a free report from each of the nationwide credit bureaus.
- CDC: Tetanus vaccination
Adults need a Td or Tdap booster once in ten years.