Paying bills does not have to be a bunch of paperwork anymore!
> Get your bills via email. Either call the company or go to their website, and find out how to get into their e-billing cycle. They will email you the bill or a notice that you can find the bill online. Be sure to tell them you do not want a paper bill anymore. Most will send both unless you tell them otherwise.
> Pay those bills on the company website or through your bank. I prefer to pay through my bank, so my banking info is not scattered all over the web. Ask your bank how to get set up. Once your account is active, add the companies that bill you. This takes a bit of time, but it only needs to be done once. When you get the email bill, go to the bank website, and pay it or schedule it. Most payments these days are electronic, but some still need to be paid via check. Take this into consideration when you are scheduling payments, so you do not incur late fees. My daughter pays her bills as soon as they come in, so it’s just a matter of preference.
> Your taxes can be mostly digital. I keep all my tax info throughout the year in an Excel spreadsheet for my accountant. In January, we wait for 1099s, and I scan/email them to her. She checks them with what I’ve sent in, does some computations that elude me (this is why I have an accountant!), we scan/email all forms that need signatures, then she e-files directly to the IRS. I receive a hard copy of my tax return that I file away. A lot of paper is saved by not faxing things back and forth and making copies. I do my daughter’s taxes online and e-file. There is a digital copy on my hard drive. No paper at all! We are getting our refunds direct-deposited, which is paperless and faster.
