Have any of you gone paperless?

[Addie]

For years I had a system that worked very well for me. I always kept a year of payments on file. Put the new one in, take out the year old one. Not once have I ever had to look back on what was in the files. So little by little I kept falling behind on the filing. And it seemed like I would run out of stamps at the most inconvenient time. I only have five bills to pay each month including my rent. Now I only write one check. Sometimes two if I need cash items at the grocery store that aren't covered by food stamps. And no stamps are needed as the office for my rent is right down stairs. Eventually I will have only my medical files and checking/savings account along with miscellaneous stuff. Letters, odd receipts, etc. One less chore to do. And it had become a chore I was hating. There will be less stuff and junk for my kids to sort through. Any real important papers are stored at my daughter's house in her safe. I receive notice of my bills on line. And I always pay over what is due. My phone bill is only $17+ a month, so I up it to the next dollar. I hate odd change.

Any time I get coffee to go, I tell the girl to keep the change. And when I have to bring home change, it goes into the glass milk bottle. When I get enough, I roll it all. A full bottle comes to about $40. That gets converted right away to the savings account. After a while it adds up and it is a nice feeling to have something to fall back on if needed. It is what keeps me going to the end of the month.

 

[CharlieD]

I have, on most of my stuff, but not all. The option I like the most is option to have paperless bills thr my bank. Instead of e-mailing me they bill my bank directly. Money comes out from set account. So much easier. I hate paper waist.
Everybody talks about invironmkent this would be trully an amazing saving of paper, only if everybody would go paperless.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Still working on it. I pay as much as I can online. Now if I could just get the insurance company and hospital to go paperless. I get the bill that say I owe $$$, I get the paperwork that says what the insurance pays $$ and then I get the itemization from the Flex account says that I owe nothing.

 

[Addie]

I have, on most of my stuff, but not all. The option I like the most is option to have paperless bills thr my bank. Instead of e-mailing me they bill my bank directly. Money comes out from set account. So much easier. I hate paper waist.
Everybody talks about invironmkent this would be trully an amazing saving of paper, only if everybody would go paperless.

I have a 'control' thing. I feel like I have given up control of my money by letting it come directly from my account to the payee. Also each month the amount I pay to my two credit cards varies. I always pay more than the minimum. But I don't always pay the same amount each month. The other two bills, cable and land phone, stays the same. And of course the rent is the same. It will go up in August. That is when I am due for a review. And with the increase in SS last January, it will be shown in my rent increase. My rent will go up by $25.00.

 

[Addie]

Still working on it. I pay as much as I can online. Now if I could just get the insurance company and hospital to go paperless. I get the bill that say I owe $$$, I get the paperwork that says what the insurance pays $$ and then I get the itemization from the Flex account says that I owe nothing.

My mantra, whenever I need one is, "I hate insurance companies, I hate insurance companies."

 

[Andy M.]

I've been paying all my bills through online banking for years. I rarely ever write a check anymore.

I used to keep paper copies of all the bills I paid but decided to stop that practice and tossed them all. Besides, with online banking, there is no paper to file...

 

[bakechef]

I am as paperless as possible. I would have to go looking for the checkbook if I needed it, I know it's in the house, somewhere...

I no longer let bills be Auto drafted from my account, I pay them either directly from their website with one time payments or have my credit union pay them with their online bill pay.

I also do my taxes with Turbo Tax online, and save a copy of the return on a flash drive, and another copy in "the cloud".

I need to explore if my insurance company can go "paperless", I already pay them online, but they mail so much crap, I'd rather have all that stuff go to e-mail.

 

[Zhizara]

I don't even have a checking account. I have DirectXpress. My Social Security is directly deposited and I have a debit card. I pay my cable bill online, and sometimes my electric, but that costs an additional $2.95. I buy a money order for my rent and usually electric too,

I get email notification for the cable and electric, as well as a statement in the mail. The cable bill because the email/computer account doesn't itemize the costs, the paper statement does. The electric statement by mail is so I can mail them a payment - 60¢ for a money order versus $2.95 for paying online. I keep stamps on hand.

I only keep enough cash on hand in case I need to take a cab.

 

[Addie]

My son doesn't have a checkinig account either. All his bill paying is within walking or driving distance. He takes all his money out and leaves just $5.00 in the account. He getds a M.O. for the rent. That only costs him $1.00.

 

[Vanitas]

I am as paperless as possible. I would have to go looking for the checkbook if I needed it, I know it's in the house, somewhere...

Ditto. The only checks we write are for rent, but when we signed a year's lease we gave the landlord a year's worth of checks.

For bills, I'm 100% paper-free. The bills all come to my email, and I then log into my bank account online and pay them.

I rarely have cash on me either. I can go for weeks without having a single cent in my wallet. Everything is paid with our debit cards.

 

[Rocklobster]

You ain't getting me to use a bidet.

 

[Vanitas]

You ain't getting me to use a bidet.

LMAO! I guess paperless isn't always the best option

 

[CWS4322]

Because I have to keep records for SEVEN years, I still do paper bills, although I pay personal bills on-line.

 

[bakechef]

Ditto. The only checks we write are for rent, but when we signed a year's lease we gave the landlord a year's worth of checks.

For bills, I'm 100% paper-free. The bills all come to my email, and I then log into my bank account online and pay them.

I rarely have cash on me either. I can go for weeks without having a single cent in my wallet. Everything is paid with our debit cards.

We always have to remember to visit an ATM machine before we travel. We never seem to have cash. Sometimes we need tip money for a bellhop, curbside airport check in, cab fare etc.. Sometimes I forget and have to use another bank's ATM and pay their fee. If for some reason I have cash in my wallet, I usually forget about it, and am surprised to find it there, not remembering where it actually came from,

 

[Steve Kroll]

I can count on one hand the number of checks I've written in the past year. We pay everything online, and most of the statements we receive also come via email.

Just about the only check I have to write out anymore is $15 for dues to the wine club I belong to. We've even been trying to update that to use PayPal, but there is one older curmudgeon board member who doesn't trust computers, and he puts the kibash on it for everyone.

We had a good laugh at his expense one day when the topic of Facebook came up. He made his usual sour I-hate-technology face and asked, incredulously, "Facebook?? Who the hell uses Facebook?" Almost every hand in the room went up.

 

[Aunt Bea]

I like cash and I still pay most bills in person or by check.

I use a credit card for gas and drugs.

I use PayPal for online purchases.

I use the ATM to get cash.

A mixed bag!

 

[LPBeier]

Ditto. The only checks we write are for rent, but when we signed a year's lease we gave the landlord a year's worth of checks.

For bills, I'm 100% paper-free. The bills all come to my email, and I then log into my bank account online and pay them.

I rarely have cash on me either. I can go for weeks without having a single cent in my wallet. Everything is paid with our debit cards.

Must be a BC tradition!
I had to get DH to find the checkbook to pay the cleaning ladies today and once he found it we realized we had to transfer the money twice to get it into the chequing account. They had been paid by Dad's Veterans' pension before.

We pay all of our bills online through transfers, automatic debits or credit cards and then online transfer to the card account We don't have any bills or statements come in the mail - all online.

I rarely carry cash but found myself needing to during Dad's hospital stays for parking. I had been using my credit card but you don't realize what 2.00 to 4.00 an hour can add up to in a short period of time. I bought Toonies and Loonies so I could keep track better. Now I am back to being cashless - just a debit card and a credit card for emergencies!

 

[LPBeier]

Because I have to keep records for SEVEN years, I still do paper bills, although I pay personal bills on-line.

I was so very happy when the day came 7 years after we sold our business and I could sit by the shredder and rid my house of totes worth of papers. Besides our three business (one each and one with 2 friends) there were DH's tests, papers, marks etc. from teaching which had to be kept for 5 years in case of a challenge by a student or inquiry by another college or job prospect.

 

[taxlady]

I pay all my bills online. I pay stuff like CAA (Canadian version of AAA) by credit card. I get as many of my bills as possible electronically.

I scan paper that I need to save and file it on my computer.

I usually carry some cash. I don't like to pay for a $2.50 cup of coffee with a debit card. We also usually pay for delivered food with cash.

I don't keep paper for my clients any more. I just scan everything and return or shred the paper. Shredded paper goes into recycling.

I also use email money and PayPal for paying and accept both from my clients.

I still have to write cheques for monthly condo fees.

 

[taxlady]

Because I have to keep records for SEVEN years, I still do paper bills, although I pay personal bills on-line.

I do all my client bills as PDFs. I also print them for most clients.

There are ways to store your records electronically that are acceptable to the CRA. I'm working on that myself.