{"id":1288,"date":"2007-08-27T09:28:32","date_gmt":"2007-08-27T16:28:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/getrichslowly.org\/blog\/2007\/08\/27\/in-pursuit-of-paperless-personal-finance\/"},"modified":"2018-11-02T22:16:40","modified_gmt":"2018-11-03T05:16:40","slug":"in-pursuit-of-paperless-personal-finance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.getrichslowly.org\/in-pursuit-of-paperless-personal-finance\/","title":{"rendered":"In Pursuit of Paperless Personal Finance"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"I’m swamped with paper. This is partly because I’m a packrat, but mostly it’s due to the never-ending bills, statements, receipts, policies, and special offers that flood my desk. The paperless office<\/a> once seemed like a silly goal to me, but lately it’s become a holy grail. Spurred by Leo’s adventures in minimalism<\/a> and my own desire to get rid of clutter<\/a>, I’ve begun to explore ways to move my money into the 21st century.<\/p>\n

Here are eight ways to begin moving toward paperless personal finance:<\/p>\n

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  1. Reclaim your mailbox.<\/b> Use OptOutPrescreen.com<\/a> to stop credit card and insurance offers. Stem the tide of junk mail with the Direct Marketing Association’s mail preference service<\/a>. Cancel unwanted magazine subscriptions.<\/li>\n
  2. Consolidate accounts<\/b> and close those you no longer use. Reduce the number of credit cards you carry. If you have bank accounts at multiple locations, combine them at a single bank. The fewer accounts you have to track, the less paper you have to deal with. (Be aware that closing unused credit card accounts will cause a temporary ding to your credit score.)<\/li>\n
  3. Use electronic billing.<\/b> If you have a choice between paper and paperless, opt for the latter. Not only will this reduce clutter, but it can also save you money. I save $2\/month through electronic billing for my auto insurance. Now I’m considering whether it’s worth the $5\/month cost to sign up for electronic billpay through my credit union. When I calculate how much I’d save on stamps, and count the $2 I’ve already saved with my insurance company, I could move to completely electronic bill payments for a net cost of $1\/month.<\/li>\n
  4. Computerize your checkbook.<\/b> For years, I’ve used Quicken<\/a> to balance my checkbook. This is probably normal for young adults, but many of my middle-aged friends still balance their checkbook by hand. One couple I know began using Quicken to track their finances this summer, and are blown away by how easy it is to use. Even a simple spreadsheet can reduce the amount of paper you’re shuffling.<\/li>\n
  5. Photocopy documents.<\/b> I have a friend who, at the end of each month, photocopies his financial documents and places them in a three-ring binder. He’s been doing this for years. While not quite paperless, this is a great option if you don’t have access to a scanner. It sure beats my stack of shoeboxes!<\/li>\n
  6. Scan receipts<\/b>. My accountant uses a $900 scanner<\/a> that automatically converts documents to PDF files. You don’t need anything so fancy. My sister-in-law scans her receipts and bills and saves them to her hard drive as jpegs, vastly reducing the amount of paper she keeps on hand.<\/li>\n
  7. Use the web.<\/b> Online apps offer smart ways to track your finances while reducing clutter. Due.com is a web-based personal finance program with a community element. Shoeboxed<\/a> lets you scan or photograph your receipts and organize them online.<\/li>\n
  8. Know which financial records to keep (and how long to keep them).<\/a><\/b> Purge your archives. For years, I’ve kept every<\/i> financial document that comes into my life. I literally have dozens of shoeboxes in storage filled with financial documents, most of which I no longer need. By learning which documents you need to keep, you can be sure that you’re not storing useless paper.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Paperless personal finance isn’t without its pitfalls, of course. Keep the following best practices in mind if you decide to pursue this route:<\/p>\n