There are lots of ways to make your personal finances a greener and more hassle-free issue. I am all for minimizing the amount of paperwork in my life so I put together some tips. I already do all of these and it is great. I don’t even own a filing cabinet or the like because I have so little paper that I need to keep.
1. Pay your bills online. This is so easy I am not sure why everyone isn’t doing it! I don’t even have any checks or a checkbook anymore…everything is done online. I balance things out once a week with online statements and I pay all bills online through the vendor site, they do a direct withdrawl from my account (love this feature), or my bank cuts them a check on my behalf at the click of a button.
2. This tip is closely related to number one. Request that that your bank stop sending paper statements and get them emailed to you instead. Most banks offer this option. IF I ever need them I can just print them out.
3. Request that all bills be sent electronically as well. For instance, my verizon bills, my cable bill, my Internet bill, etc. are all sent to me via email. I just go to my account and hit pay and it is done.
4. Use online checkbook and finance software like Quicken or Money. You can even use a simple spreadsheet. I REALLY like the free budgeting system from Pear Budget. Some of these programs…like Money can be linked to your bank accounts and they update with your latest transactions whenever you open them.
5. Invest in a good scanner and scan all important documents and receipts. I end up recycling alot of my important papers after I scan them. If you have alot of receipts you need for tax purposes consider Neat Receipts. This program scans your receipts, bills, etc. and organizes them. Of course some I keep…like W2s, income tax returns, etc. Those things I keep in three ring binders in the basement.
6. Instead of printing receipts for online purchases, online bill payments, etc. do a screen capture (control+alt+print screen) and paste into a graphic application like Paint…save it as a .jpg file and file it on your computer with your scanned receipts.
Less paper. less waste, less hassle. Do you have any ideas to share?
Want to find some other ways to de-clutter your life? Read Clutter’s Last Stand & It’s All Too Much.
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Hi—Tiffany:
I pay all my bills online, and have opted to receive the monthly statements via email instead of postal mail. Pretty much all retailers now have this (e-statement) option, as it saves them a ton of money on postage and mailing. For those who are reluctant to pay online, you can pay many bills over the phone instead, through an automated and secure system. Some retailers even give you a small prize or token for switching over. Definitely something to consider.
Good tips.
You don’t own a filing cabinet…I think that is part of my problem. I have filing cabinets and I often pick up “nifty” filing drawers and containers…all to store my papers! That has got to stop. Thank you for this very necessary and for me very meaningful Green tip!
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I’m certainly going to contact people that bill me and tell them to email the bill instead. All that post just irritates me, and – let’s face it – they’re like an ‘open and just look’ type of letter. Then they go into a large concertina file for who knows how long, only to just plain never be needed. If I got them on email, that would be much less hassle and just better for everything! As for scanning the documents in – now that is certainly something I think I’m going to do. Then I can get rid of that stupid concertina file, and only keep the paperwork of things that are really important.
When you pay online, you surely pay using your credit card? Right? When is the time that you usually don’t pay online? When do you usually use or bring cash?