Filing Digital Copies Instead of Printing

We seem to be able to do most anything online.  However, for every transaction, account, or just to keep a record, you also have had to print out on your personal printer at home pages and pages of paper you may never look at again.  Not to mention the many pages that were unreadable and had to be printed multiple times.  And yet, you can't afford not to print important account and transaction information and receipts.

For the sake of record keeping as well as saving on your printing costs as well as your frustration level, you might consider creating PDF files and storing the information on your computer.


While most everyone is familiar with the free PDF reader from Adobe (c) that allows us to read PDF files, most of us do not spend the money to purchase the software to create PDF files.  Now you can get a free software that allows you to create PDF files by using the print function you are already familiar with.


CutePDF is a free software available for home use that allows you to create PDF files using the print function and selecting CutePDF as the printer instead of your ink printer machine attached to your computer or home network.

You can 'print' a copy to a PDF file and store it on your computer.

Caution:  If you store things on your computer you should also have a backup and recovery plan for computer files in case you have computer failure!

How to:   Click here to CutePDF to download and install your free CutePDF software
When you install this software, you can select print and choose CutePDF when the print select printer pop-up window appears.

Saving Money:   To save money, you may also want to make CutePDF your default printer so that you always print to CutePDF first, then print to your ink printer only when you are intentional about needing a hard copy print out.

Ink cartridges for your printer can cost your around $50 per cartridge.  Even if you are printing in black and white, your printing at home could be costing you anywhere from .15 cents to .30 cents per page.  Copying the PDF files to a thumb drive and going to a nearby Kinko's or other copy center you can usually print for .03 cents to .10 cents per page for black and white and a little more for color copies.

Going Green:   Companies would like to make you think that you are a better more conscientious consumer if you choose to go paperless with your monthly statements and bills.  While this can be true - it can also be FALSE depending on your need for statement documentation.  Are they really asking you to do this for the environment or are they just shifting the cost of printing to you and actually being much less concerned about the environment.  If you print statements and bills for tax records or any other reason, it is likely to be more cost effective and much better for the environment for the large companies to print the statements on more economical printers that use toner cartridges that are much more likely to be recycled than those for home printers.

Go paperless only when it makes sense to go paperless and don't assume that your printing at home only when you need to print is a better option for you or the environment.  Do the Math for yourself.

Leave a comment and let me know how it works for you.

Requesting Copies of Prior Year Tax Information from IRS

You can request a transcript of your prior year tax information from the IRS by either going online to the IRS website at www.irs.gov , by calling the IRS, or by mailing in IRS Form 4506-T.

This is available to you free of charge from the IRS.

If you paid someone to prepare your tax return, you can also request a photocopy of the return from your paid preparer. Usually you will be charged for the photocopy based on the number of pages.

There are two choices when ordering prior year information from the IRS:

1.  A Tax Return Transcript :  This is not a photocopy of your tax return but it is a transcript listing of the information on your tax return as it was originally filed.

2.  A Tax Account Transcript :  This is similar to the tax return transcript, but will also include additional information such as filing status, marital status, taxable income and and later adjustments to the return made by the IRS or by you.

If you are going to order you might want to go ahead and order the more complete Tax Account Transcript.  If you are not sure if any adjustments were made to your return in prior years, this Tax Account Transcript would give you that information.

Consider: Consider ordering the current year and 3 prior years for your Tax Account Transcript records to give you a more complete history of your records and protection.

How To:   www.IRS.gov  to download IRS Form 4506-T

Password Safe to Manage Passwords

How many passwords can you possibly keep up with?

There is a free version of an application for your home computer that allows you to store up to 25 passwords for various online activities.  Actually, the application allows you to save up to 25 passwords in 1 Safe File.  You can add additional Safe Files. 

I use a different Safe File for my home and another one for social networking sites, retail sites, and anything that is not a financial account or related to my house.

How To:  The software is called Password Agent and you can download the free version of the software  by clicking on  Password Agent by Moon Software.

Please leave a comment and share any updated information for this topic.

Establishing Credit 

Every adult needs to be aware of the credit record and credit score known as their FICO score. Couples need to be aware of both their joint credit and their individual credit history and scores.

The first step to establishing credit is finding out if you already have a credit report and making sure that report represents an accurate credit history for you.  See my post on Requesting Your Credit Report for more information.   If you are a young adult, single, newly single for any reason you may want to check you credit and make sure you are continuing to establish good credit going forward.

Credit is established by financial institutions such as banks, credit unions, credit cards, mortgage companies and more reporting to the major credit reporting agencies.  These agencies typically report monthly and they report both the highest dollar amount of credit you have used as well as the payment history on your accounts.

So, to establish credit you need to use some form of credit, such as a credit card, auto loan, mortgage, or other form of borrowing money from a reporting financial institution.

To establish credit you will need a minimum of these three things:

1.  Personal checking account in your name only.

     If you use a bank or credit union for your mortgage or other account with your spouse, 

     you can go to the same bank where you have an account and open a checking account

     there where you already have some history and are an establish customer.

     Before opening an account, make sure you check the minimum balance requirements to 

     avoid having fees on the account.  If the bank minimums are too high for you, check a local

     credit union for free checking or the lowest fees.

2.  Personal savings account in your name only.

     A savings account is almost always opened with a checking account at your bank or 

     credit union.  The credit union will require a savings account with a minimum balance

3.  A credit card in your name only (not joint with a spouse or parent)

     Again, if you have an account at a bank or credit union, you may be able to get a credit card 

     with at least a small credit line due to your existing customer status.

     Before opening a credit card account, be sure to look for a credit card that does not have an

     annual fee.  You might also try to find a card that has cash back bonuses.

     Be sure to manage this credit card well and pay off the balance in full every month to avoid

     interest charges.  You are not trying to build up debt, you are trying to show a history of 

     paying your bills on time and in full.

Cautions:

a.  If you are married, see additional posts on joint finances regarding credit.

b.  This post is not intended to encourage borrowing money or encouraging you to maintain a debt balance on any account.  See other posts regarding the wisdom of being debt free and how you can be debt free and still have a good credit history.

Related Posts:

Benefits of a Credit Union
Requesting Free Credit Reports

How are some other ways you have found that you can safely establish credit or improve your credit record? 

Tax Season: Step 1 Gathering Records

It's that time of year when we start seeing commercials for tax refund loans, free tax filing and people on busy intersections dressed like Uncle Sam or Lady Liberty waving us in to the office of tax preparers to file our tax return.  All these reminders begin to push our panic button because we are rarely ready to file our tax return. So here's a few things to get you started.

1.  Find last year's tax return:   Last year's tax return can help you get organized for this year's tax filing.
2.  Start a list List items on your last return that are the same as this year.
     a.   Form W-2 's from your jobs
     b.   Form 1099's from bank accounts for interest and dividends
     c.   Misc Form 1099's for work, rent income, or other miscellaneous income
3.  Contributions for the year can include donations to non profit organizations as well as donations of  clothing, furniture, or other household goods.  You should get a receipt for all donations.
4.  Home Improvements:  Some home improvements may provide tax credits for the energy savings they provide.  These items may include a new heater or air conditioner, solar screens, storm doors and windows, and insulation.
5.  Sales Tax is deductible if you itemize your deductions.  A sales tax table is used to calculate this amount based on your income.  However, if you have large purchases for the year such as an automobile, home improvements, or other extraordinary purchases, you may be better off by adding up your sales tax for the year instead of using the table provided amount.

This is at least a start.  It's still early, so you still have plenty of time to gather your records.