Being smart and organized with your finances can sometimes come with a price: Paper Overload.

It’s easy to get lost under stacks of paperwork cluttering your desk at home and at work, because most of the time it’s hard to know what to keep and what to toss.  Luckily we live in an age where technology has given us other options for organization.

Here are a few helpful hints for going “paperless”:

• Pay bills online, doing so will make your life easier. Set up Auto Pay – your bills are automatically paid each month leaving you with one less worry. Also, with electronic data there is no paper trail for you to keep up with.

• Get bank statements online. This will reduce paper clutter, and will keep all of your banking information in one location.

• Save all important paper documents for 3 to 7 years in one file cabinet. Some documents are required in paper form. Documents such as tax returns, investments, mortgages and other things concerning real estate, tax-deductible receipts, and home improvements are important to save on paper.

• Use digital organizing program, such as Neat Desk, to store all other financial paperwork. Make sure to use an external hard drive to back it up. Saving everything in two places means you will most likely never lose important information.

• Purchase a speedy scanner/printer that can scan undersized items. Some even come with programs to store receipts and bank statements for you. Doing this will reduce paper clutter on simple purchases.

Taking just a few steps to go paperless not only makes your life neater and easier, but it also helps to save the environment. Whenever possible get all receipts emailed to you, and pay everything you possibly can online.
Answers from AZ