| Author |
Message |
Andrew
Guest
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 Posted:
Sat Nov 05, 2005 5:01 pm Post subject:
to zMan (and others...) - ebilling worth it vs mail statemen |
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I was going to post this as part of an existing thread, but I think I'll
start another one since that thread was a few days old, and this might get
better attention.
zman said in a previous thread:
| Quote: | I just started using scheduled transactions to remind me when bills are
due. I used to rely upon statements received in the mail, but now most of
my statements are received online, .....
|
Tell me about your experiences about receiving your bills online. My credit
union's billing system (thru Checkfree I believe) offers this ability, and I
am beginning to wonder if I should take advantage of it. But I, despite
being quite comfortable with technology, still have a gut feel that I want
to keep/save/store paper statements and I think that I'd end up printing off
records anyway - so why not simply continue to have the biller's mail me
their statements?
Any thoughts on this, or whether or not e-billing seems better/easier??
--
-------------------------------------------------------------
Regards -
- Andrew
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JM
Guest
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| Posted:
Sat Nov 05, 2005 5:01 pm Post subject:
Re: to zMan (and others...) - ebilling worth it vs mail stat |
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I'm with zman.
Have discontinued all paper statements [bank, cc, mortgage, investment
accts, etc.] where I'm given the option. In migrating to online
services over the past few years, found myself piling up, and
eventually filing, paper statements that I had not even bothered to
open. Have boxes of paper, some 20+/- years old, stashed in the
basement, in the attic and in the garage and occassionally think about
getting rid of them.
Very rarely print a statement unless I'm having trouble tracking down a
discrepancy with my QW records - then don't keep the paper copy.
With good backup procedures, feel very comfortable with electronic
records. |
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nospam
Guest
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| Posted:
Sat Nov 05, 2005 11:00 pm Post subject:
Re: to zMan (and others...) - ebilling worth it vs mail stat |
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"Andrew" <andrew@jkl.com> wrote in message news:dp4bf.59$rc7.25@fe12.lga...
| Quote: | I was going to post this as part of an existing thread, but I think I'll
start another one since that thread was a few days old, and this might get
better attention.
zman said in a previous thread:
I just started using scheduled transactions to remind me when bills are
due. I used to rely upon statements received in the mail, but now most
of
my statements are received online, .....
Tell me about your experiences about receiving your bills online. My
credit
union's billing system (thru Checkfree I believe) offers this ability, and
I
am beginning to wonder if I should take advantage of it. But I, despite
being quite comfortable with technology, still have a gut feel that I want
to keep/save/store paper statements and I think that I'd end up printing
off
records anyway - so why not simply continue to have the biller's mail me
their statements?
Any thoughts on this, or whether or not e-billing seems better/easier??
--
-------------------------------------------------------------
Regards -
- Andrew
Hi Andrew. I've been receiving and paying bills online for a couple of |
years, including credit cards and all utilities. Use quicken for all
transactions and backup quicken at least once daily to a CD and also to one
of those portable HD things. Can't think what it's called right now. Keep
the statements in a separate file for each entity and also keep those backed
up. Don't print anything that's not necessary. So far, so good. A little
nervy to get started, but have to get modern sometime.
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Dave
Guest
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| Posted:
Sat Nov 05, 2005 11:29 pm Post subject:
Re: to zMan (and others...) - ebilling worth it vs mail stat |
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I have slowly migrated to online billing. If you reallly look at your bills,
some statements are useless anyway such as a cellphone bill. The statements
you want you can easily printout yourself. Once I upgraded to Q-2006 I was
amazed how many financial instiutions have export to Quicken capabilities
and as a result made it easier to keep track of where my money is going to.
I always use my credit card for purchases because of the airline mile
rewards. It was virtually impossible to keep track of things. Now most of
it is put in categories etc. What isn't recognized as being a part of
specific category I can categorize myself and then it will be done
afterwards automatically my Quicken. The downside to online billing is that
there is so much spam in my e-mail I have to really watch carefully so I
don't delete any statements. Of course you could create a new e-mail
address to have all your bills go to and also the reminders are a great way
to not miss out on any bills. Thats my two cents worth.
Andrew" <andrew@jkl.com> wrote in message news:dp4bf.59$rc7.25@fe12.lga...
| Quote: | I was going to post this as part of an existing thread, but I think I'll
start another one since that thread was a few days old, and this might get
better attention.
zman said in a previous thread:
I just started using scheduled transactions to remind me when bills are
due. I used to rely upon statements received in the mail, but now most
of
my statements are received online, .....
Tell me about your experiences about receiving your bills online. My
credit
union's billing system (thru Checkfree I believe) offers this ability, and
I
am beginning to wonder if I should take advantage of it. But I, despite
being quite comfortable with technology, still have a gut feel that I want
to keep/save/store paper statements and I think that I'd end up printing
off
records anyway - so why not simply continue to have the biller's mail me
their statements?
Any thoughts on this, or whether or not e-billing seems better/easier??
--
-------------------------------------------------------------
Regards -
- Andrew
|
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Z Man
Guest
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| Posted:
Sun Nov 06, 2005 1:01 am Post subject:
Re: to zMan (and others...) - ebilling worth it vs mail stat |
|
|
"Andrew" <andrew@jkl.com> wrote in message news:dp4bf.59$rc7.25@fe12.lga...
| Quote: | I was going to post this as part of an existing thread, but I think I'll
start another one since that thread was a few days old, and this might get
better attention.
zman said in a previous thread:
I just started using scheduled transactions to remind me when bills are
due. I used to rely upon statements received in the mail, but now most of
my statements are received online, .....
Tell me about your experiences about receiving your bills online. My
credit union's billing system (thru Checkfree I believe) offers this
ability, and I am beginning to wonder if I should take advantage of it.
But I, despite being quite comfortable with technology, still have a gut
feel that I want to keep/save/store paper statements and I think that I'd
end up printing off records anyway - so why not simply continue to have
the biller's mail me their statements?
Any thoughts on this, or whether or not e-billing seems better/easier??
|
eBilling is better in all respects, when available. For me, it is part of an
overall 'paper-free' approach. Through about the end of 2001, I had
maintained manila folders for all my important correspondence, bills, bank
statements. I had many years worth of folders, most of which had been
transferred to a Westy's storage facility. The utility value of such paper
files was very limited. It had become increasingly difficult to locate what
I needed, and the storage situation was a real mess.
In 2002, I started scanning all my documents. I gradually picked up the
pace, and within about a year, I had no more paper files. Now, when I
receive an invoice, I pay it, scan, it and shred it. I have had none of the
manila folders since 2002. If you go through all my stuff, you will find no
folder with 2003, 2004 or 2005 dates. Documents I receive on paper are
always shredded within 1-2 days. As an example, when I receive my Hartford
automobile insurance policy, which is about 30-40 double sided pages, it
gets scanned and shredded the same day.
Getting bills online is a natural extension of the paperless way of life. It
has two advantages: (1) the materials don't need to be shredded because they
are never received, and (2) materials received in electronic format have
been created from the original source materials, so they contain editable
text. Why do I care? Because such documents are searchable. Scanned
documents are graphic images, in which there is no text. No, I don't bother
OCR'ing them. It would be a total waste of time, and would take hundreds of
times longer than it takes me to simply scan the document.
I have experienced a significant increase in the number and types of
documents I can receive in electronic format. Until a few months ago, I had
to receive my Citibank statements on paper. Then, they notified me that I
could discontinue paper statements, and download them in PDF format (note
that check images must be downloaded separately, and these pages inserted
into the bank statement PDF if you want to have a complete record - I scan
my deposited items and insert those, as well.). American Express has had
paper free billing available for much longer, and I was amongst the first to
sign up. There are still quite a few credit cards I must receive on paper,
and scan and shred, but as times goes on, it will be fewer and fewer.
An additional benefit is backup. If I were to have a fire or other such
calamity, all my paper files would be lost. With electronic files, I can
easily make a backup copy and store it in my office, which is a distance
away, or in my safe deposit box. Quicken 6 let's me attach documents, so now
I have an additional form of back up because I store my Quicken backups off
site, and always attach check images and statements.
When storing electronic documents, it is important to establish a meaningful
and consistent naming convention and folder structure, so that you can
search for what you need. Once you get used to doing so, it is quite easy.
Maintaining electronic records in general is a great step up in efficiency.
As an example, I had purchased a couple of pairs of shoes and could not
remember when. Since I have been using Quicken since 1/1/95, I was able to
search for the word 'shoes' and determine that I bought these two pairs of
shoes at Bostonian on 5/4/01. I would NOT be able to easily locate that
invoice since I have not been comprehensively scanning that far back, but as
we go forward, it will be easier and easier to find such purchase info.
I should point out the having the proper equipment is essential to maintain
efficiency. I always purchase the most recent version of Adobe Acrobat (now
using Professional 7.0), and have a Ricoh Aficio scanner that does 35 pages
per minute double sided. I would not be able to afford the time to scan that
Hartford auto insurance policy without a good scanner. Speaking of time, it
does take some to maintain this system. Every document that is scanned is
routed to my computer with a nonsense name comprising my first name, the
date, and a string of numbers. Each document must be opened to determine
what it is, then closed, named, and filed in the proper area in my computer.
However, there is a time factor in finding paper files, if they can even be
located, and I would rather expend the time upfront on the scanning and
electronic filing.
Hope this helps other understand the value of maintaining electronic
records. I certainly like the concept! |
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Hank Arnold
Guest
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| Posted:
Sun Nov 06, 2005 5:01 pm Post subject:
Re: to zMan (and others...) - ebilling worth it vs mail stat |
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|
I use on-line billing whenever possible. Many of them will let you get both
and stop the paper later. It works great. As to statements, just about every
credit card, bank and brokerage I use has statements and/or bills on line.
I agree that using on-line bills and statements only is leaving yourself
exposed to problems later. Instead of generating paper, what I do is I
"print" the statements and bills that are on line to PDF files on my hard
drive. I use a program called "Karen's Replicator" (from KarenWare) to
automatically back them up to a separate logical drive. I then use
BackupMyPC to back up my hard drive to an external USB hard drive weekly.
Frankly, it's easier for me to find documents that are stored electronically
than paper ones....... ;-)
--
Regards,
Hank Arnold
"Andrew" <andrew@jkl.com> wrote in message news:dp4bf.59$rc7.25@fe12.lga...
| Quote: | I was going to post this as part of an existing thread, but I think I'll
start another one since that thread was a few days old, and this might get
better attention.
zman said in a previous thread:
I just started using scheduled transactions to remind me when bills are
due. I used to rely upon statements received in the mail, but now most of
my statements are received online, .....
Tell me about your experiences about receiving your bills online. My
credit union's billing system (thru Checkfree I believe) offers this
ability, and I am beginning to wonder if I should take advantage of it.
But I, despite being quite comfortable with technology, still have a gut
feel that I want to keep/save/store paper statements and I think that I'd
end up printing off records anyway - so why not simply continue to have
the biller's mail me their statements?
Any thoughts on this, or whether or not e-billing seems better/easier??
--
-------------------------------------------------------------
Regards -
- Andrew
|
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Chuck
Guest
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| Posted:
Mon Nov 07, 2005 12:46 am Post subject:
Re: to zMan (and others...) - ebilling worth it vs mail stat |
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|
I have enjoyed reading all the replies supporting online bill
statements, bill paying and record keeping. I, too, have been moving in
that direction, but haven't made the complete leap.
One issue I wonder about, is what would happen if something happened to
you, and your wife, significant other, children, etc., had to pick up
where you left off? Would they be able to open all the files,
understand where things are filed and backed up, or be able to find all
the information you have so faithfully stored and backed up? What
provisions have any of you made for this eventuality? At least with
hardcopy records and statements, they would have something they could
locate and dig through. Not sure my wife or children would be able to
find all my electronically stored information.
Chuck
Andrew wrote:
| Quote: | I was going to post this as part of an existing thread, but I think I'll
start another one since that thread was a few days old, and this might get
better attention.
zman said in a previous thread:
I just started using scheduled transactions to remind me when bills are
due. I used to rely upon statements received in the mail, but now most of
my statements are received online, .....
Tell me about your experiences about receiving your bills online. My credit
union's billing system (thru Checkfree I believe) offers this ability, and I
am beginning to wonder if I should take advantage of it. But I, despite
being quite comfortable with technology, still have a gut feel that I want
to keep/save/store paper statements and I think that I'd end up printing off
records anyway - so why not simply continue to have the biller's mail me
their statements?
Any thoughts on this, or whether or not e-billing seems better/easier??
|
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Arnie Goetchius
Guest
|
| Posted:
Mon Nov 07, 2005 1:02 am Post subject:
Re: to zMan (and others...) - ebilling worth it vs mail stat |
|
|
I have a one inch binder that includes that kind of information and what
my wife and kids need to do at my demise. I call it my "croak" book.
Another side of this and maybe off topic is the associated "repeat
online payments". I still get paper invoices from my insurance companies
(life, long term care, homeowners, ety) but toss them in the waste paper
basket. With repeating online payments, these will automatically be paid
even if I'm in a coma. Thus, the insurance will not be canceled due to
lack of payment.
Chuck wrote:
| Quote: | I have enjoyed reading all the replies supporting online bill
statements, bill paying and record keeping. I, too, have been moving in
that direction, but haven't made the complete leap.
One issue I wonder about, is what would happen if something happened to
you, and your wife, significant other, children, etc., had to pick up
where you left off? Would they be able to open all the files,
understand where things are filed and backed up, or be able to find all
the information you have so faithfully stored and backed up? What
provisions have any of you made for this eventuality? At least with
hardcopy records and statements, they would have something they could
locate and dig through. Not sure my wife or children would be able to
find all my electronically stored information.
Chuck
Andrew wrote:
I was going to post this as part of an existing thread, but I think
I'll start another one since that thread was a few days old, and this
might get better attention.
zman said in a previous thread:
I just started using scheduled transactions to remind me when bills
are due. I used to rely upon statements received in the mail, but now
most of my statements are received online, .....
Tell me about your experiences about receiving your bills online. My
credit union's billing system (thru Checkfree I believe) offers this
ability, and I am beginning to wonder if I should take advantage of
it. But I, despite being quite comfortable with technology, still
have a gut feel that I want to keep/save/store paper statements and I
think that I'd end up printing off records anyway - so why not simply
continue to have the biller's mail me their statements?
Any thoughts on this, or whether or not e-billing seems better/easier??
|
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Z Man
Guest
|
| Posted:
Mon Nov 07, 2005 1:02 am Post subject:
Re: to zMan (and others...) - ebilling worth it vs mail stat |
|
|
"Arnie Goetchius" <arnie.goetchius@att.net> wrote in message
news:1otbf.28273$qk4.7598@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
I have a one inch binder that includes that kind of information and what
my wife and kids need to do at my demise. I call it my "croak" book.
<Snip>
This is VERY important, and almost no one does it. I started developing such
a book a couple of months ago, but it will still be a while before it is
complete. A couple of things to keep in mind:
(1) The location of your computer based financial records is very important.
Your estate administrator (wife, adult child, attorney, etc) should know
where your records are stored. You could even burn a DVD periodically and
provide a copy to one of these individuals. Some folks store some of their
financial records in their office, and this should be carefully noted, right
down to which desk drawer has them. Once you are gone, all they will have a
guesswork, unless you prepare properly and comprehensively
(2) It is essential that you create a master list of all your passwords,
for Quicken, banks, email accounts, etc. If something should happen to you
(death or serious disability), your representatives would need to access
your accounts quickly. Most ISP's won't provide an email account password
except to the original user, so if you fail to make a record, a court order
might be needed. This could be time consuming and expensive
I know we have gone a tad off topic, but this is a financial forum, and
safeguarding one's financial records, particularly as more and more records
are maintained in electronic format, is crucial. |
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Margaret Wilson
Guest
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| Posted:
Mon Nov 07, 2005 1:02 am Post subject:
Re: to zMan (and others...) - ebilling worth it vs mail stat |
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|
I too am enjoying reading about everyone's "systems." Here's my story:
I started receiving and paying bills quite a few years ago, when my utility
companies first offered to do ACH transactions from my checking account. As
companies started putting up their own web sites where I could switch my
payment method to a credit card (that pays a cash dividend), I scheduled
payments that way. Now I receive all bills and statements electronically.
I use PaperPort 10 to save the statements as PDF files. I don't bother
saving credit card statements, but perhaps I should.... Incidentally, it
now takes me over four years to use up two boxes of checks!
When I do my taxes, I "print" a PDF of both federal and state and save those
in my PaperPort folder structure. Probably because of habit, I still print
a paper copy and file that with my Quicken tax report and all pertinent
receipts. (I use TaxAct, so having that Quicken report makes doing my taxes
much simpler.) I have a flatbed scanner, so scanning large documents would
be painful, but I do scan some things, and if I scan regularly, the job is
relatively painless. I'm scanning more and more documents as time goes on.
As others have mentioned, it's simpler for me to find the electronic copies
of statements, etc. However, being a single person living alone, if I were
to take a dirt nap, my friends and family might have some difficulty in
figuring out my system. For my own ease of use, I use Password Agent to
store web addresses and their respective logins. That file is encrypted
with a master password. I have written a document that goes along with my
will, and it has a brief description of my system as well as instructions on
how to run Password Agent and open the file using my master password.
I use Moon Software's Backup Magic to schedule daily (data only) backups to
both an internal secondary hard drive as well as an external USB2.0 drive.
I've also scheduled a weekly backup to a second machine. I use Acronis True
Image 9.0 to periodically create images of the boot/system partitions on
both machines, and these images are stored on a second drive on each
machine. In addition, the latest image is also copied to the opposite
machine. Barring data corruption that makes it into multiple backups, I
should be able to completely restore either or both systems (including data)
in a matter of minutes. I used to do periodic backups which I stored at my
office. However, I became disabled a little over a year ago, thus ending my
off-site storage. I should get off my duff and either get a safe deposit
box or arrange to store DVD backups at a friend's house in case of fire or
other disaster. Since the hurricanes, Suze Orman is recommending that we
all send vital info in paper form to friends or relatives in another part of
the country. That I have not done ... though I know I should.
Regards,
Margaret
"Andrew" <andrew@jkl.com> wrote in message news:dp4bf.59$rc7.25@fe12.lga...
| Quote: | I was going to post this as part of an existing thread, but I think I'll
start another one since that thread was a few days old, and this might get
better attention.
zman said in a previous thread:
I just started using scheduled transactions to remind me when bills are
due. I used to rely upon statements received in the mail, but now most of
my statements are received online, .....
Tell me about your experiences about receiving your bills online. My
credit union's billing system (thru Checkfree I believe) offers this
ability, and I am beginning to wonder if I should take advantage of it.
But I, despite being quite comfortable with technology, still have a gut
feel that I want to keep/save/store paper statements and I think that I'd
end up printing off records anyway - so why not simply continue to have
the biller's mail me their statements?
Any thoughts on this, or whether or not e-billing seems better/easier??
--
-------------------------------------------------------------
Regards -
- Andrew
|
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Andrew
Guest
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| Posted:
Mon Nov 07, 2005 1:02 am Post subject:
Re: to zMan (and others...) - ebilling worth it vs mail stat |
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Z Man wrote:
| Quote: |
I know we have gone a tad off topic, ....
|
To both you and Arnie (who stated the same thing....) - I started this
thread, I'm one of the oldest continuosly posting people here, so I say to
both "Don't worry about it!".
--
-------------------------------------------------------------
Regards -
- Andrew |
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Z Man
Guest
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| Posted:
Mon Nov 07, 2005 7:26 am Post subject:
Re: to zMan (and others...) - ebilling worth it vs mail stat |
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|
"Andrew" <andrew@jkl.com> wrote in message
news:37wbf.1810$mU3.1194@fe08.lga...
Z Man wrote:
| Quote: |
I know we have gone a tad off topic, ....
To both you and Arnie (who stated the same thing....) - I started this
thread, I'm one of the oldest continuosly posting people here, so I say to
both "Don't worry about it!".
|
"One of the oldest"? Not to be argumentative, but I am certainly older than
you are. I am VERY old (in addition to being very off-topic). |
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Arnie Goetchius
Guest
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| Posted:
Mon Nov 07, 2005 7:43 am Post subject:
Re: to zMan (and others...) - ebilling worth it vs mail stat |
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Z Man wrote:
| Quote: | "Andrew" <andrew@jkl.com> wrote in message
news:37wbf.1810$mU3.1194@fe08.lga...
Z Man wrote:
I know we have gone a tad off topic, ....
To both you and Arnie (who stated the same thing....) - I started this
thread, I'm one of the oldest continuosly posting people here, so I say to
both "Don't worry about it!".
"One of the oldest"? Not to be argumentative, but I am certainly older than
you are. I am VERY old (in addition to being very off-topic).
Me too - a depression baby. |
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Andrew
Guest
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| Posted:
Mon Nov 07, 2005 9:02 am Post subject:
Re: to zMan (and others...) - ebilling worth it vs mail stat |
|
|
Z Man wrote:
| Quote: | "Andrew" <andrew@jkl.com> wrote in message
news:37wbf.1810$mU3.1194@fe08.lga...
Z Man wrote:
I know we have gone a tad off topic, ....
To both you and Arnie (who stated the same thing....) - I started
this thread, I'm one of the oldest continuosly posting people here,
so I say to both "Don't worry about it!".
"One of the oldest"? Not to be argumentative, but I am certainly
older than you are. I am VERY old (in addition to being very
off-topic).
|
You may very well be. I didn't say I was the oldest, so I certainly don't
take offense. Of course, anyone
born in or after 1964 is all the same *computer* age, since that's when the
modern computer was born, in which we all take a humble part (like being
part of this community) of being. (and that is a not too subtle troll....I
admit it.) - now this is REALLY offtopic.
--
-------------------------------------------------------------
Regards -
- Andrew |
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Stubby
Guest
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| Posted:
Mon Nov 07, 2005 5:02 pm Post subject:
Re: to zMan (and others...) - ebilling worth it vs mail stat |
|
|
Andrew wrote:
| Quote: | Z Man wrote:
"Andrew" <andrew@jkl.com> wrote in message
news:37wbf.1810$mU3.1194@fe08.lga...
Z Man wrote:
I know we have gone a tad off topic, ....
To both you and Arnie (who stated the same thing....) - I started
this thread, I'm one of the oldest continuosly posting people here,
so I say to both "Don't worry about it!".
"One of the oldest"? Not to be argumentative, but I am certainly
older than you are. I am VERY old (in addition to being very
off-topic).
You may very well be. I didn't say I was the oldest, so I certainly don't
take offense. Of course, anyone
born in or after 1964 is all the same *computer* age, since that's when the
modern computer was born, in which we all take a humble part (like being
part of this community) of being. (and that is a not too subtle troll....I
admit it.) - now this is REALLY offtopic.
|
Young or old, you can still be wrong. |
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