A Quagmire of Paper

One thing I have noticed since I started doing some online investing is that I get notices all the time, both in my e-mail “in-box” and as flagged messages when I sign in. There are notices for dividends (I like getting those) notices for purchases, sales, quarterly statements for each company, annual reports, etc, etc. Most people just don’t have any use for all the information, and they certainly don’t need to keep copies of it. But some people will.

I used to keep all the confirmations for my buys and sells and I printed out monthly statements to track gains and losses. Soon I realized I needed a new filing cabinet, just for all of those. So I got one. And then I got one of those nifty wire racks that hold the manila folders. That was great for all the information I needed ‘right at my fingertips.’

But, WHY did I need all that? The answer was that I really didn’t. I was hording my files and never looked at them past the first day. I was printing things out, maybe reading them once and filing them for ‘future reference.’ That was for the future reference that never arrives.

The point I am making is that most paperwork never needs to get to paper. Electronic copies of documents is enough, and even most of those probably aren’t ever going to be accessed again, and, here’s the kicker, all those documents probably have a lot of information that is confidential. Leave the files alone. Don’t print them out, unless you are taking them to your financial consultant or your accountant. Even then, you need to prioritize and make sure you are only taking what you need, and shredding it all when you are done with them.

The ideal state is a paperless one, and keep in mind that documents from an on-line account will probably still be available on-line, unless you delete them, and documents necessary for your accountant or financial consultant will be kept at their office (and they will know what is really needed, if they are true professionals.)

Bottom line, if you really need to print documents, make sure you keep them secure and well organized.

That’s all for this week,

Solid Investing to all,

Rob

Rob@WealthTrainingSource.com

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The columns, articles, message board posts and/or any other features provided on Wealth Training Source are provided for personal finance and investment information and are not to be construed as investment advice. Under no circumstances does the information in this content represent a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security. The views and opinions expressed in an article or column are the author’s own and there is no implied endorsement by Robert Britt of any advice or trading strategy