I decided to go paperless in 2k3

[Liviathan]

So I do a lot of investing...IRA, Roth IRA, Mutual Fund, Regular Brokerage, Bank acct's, and own a couple of properties that I rent out.

So I decided to scan all my statements and bills and such. That way I don't need to worry about keeping folders and looking for crap.

I am using the scanning Util. that comes with OfficeXP. Its scans stuff to tiff and OCR's so it can be search. It's pretty neat.

Just wondering if anyone has done anything like this? and is there a way to convert PDF files to the same format tiffs? Right now my bank can give me my statement in PDF but I hate having two different formats, call me anal.

 

[minendo]

I keep all documents stored in a filing cabinet as proof and records.

 

[Orsorum]

Question... if I'm looking for a long-term retirement fund (40 years+), would a regular IRA or a Roth IRA be a better choice?

I'd rather have the income be tax-free when I withdraw it, but I don't know if that is necessary. Any thoughts?

 

[notfred]

Originally posted by: Liviathan
So I do a lot of investing...IRA, Roth IRA, Mutual Fund, Regular Brokerage, Bank acct's, and own a couple of properties that I rent out.

So I decided to scan all my statements and bills and such. That way I don't need to worry about keeping folders and looking for crap.

I am using the scanning Util. that comes with OfficeXP. Its scans stuff to tiff and OCR's so it can be search. It's pretty neat.

Just wondering if anyone has done anything like this? and is there a way to convert PDF files to the same format tiffs? Right now my bank can give me my statement in PDF but I hate having two different formats, call me anal.

Um, PDF is a much better format for storing documents than tiffs. What you're saying is akin to "I have a bunch of gif graphics, and some text files. I hate having two different formats though, so can I turn my text files into gif imges?"

 

[DaveSimmons]

Originally posted by: Zakath15
Question... if I'm looking for a long-term retirement fund (40 years+), would a regular IRA or a Roth IRA be a better choice?

I'd rather have the income be tax-free when I withdraw it, but I don't know if that is necessary. Any thoughts?

fool.com should have some good articles on this.

I'm in a high tax bracket now, higher than I expect to be at retirement, so I did traditional IRA for 2000 - 2002 for the up-front tax savings (I'm back on 401k now, woohoo!).

If you aren't making too much yet then Roth is definitely better. It's also better if there's any chance you might want to take some of it out for a house down payment since you can take out the principal with no taxes or penalties.

Traditional is better because the up-front savings is getting an immediate 30% return on your investment, which is very nice compared to the 2.5% APY my bank CD is earning this year.

So the answer is "it depends"

 

[Liviathan]

Not saying that at all. I scan my docs they end up in TIFF format which is not bad...handles multiple pages. Now if I could find a way to convert the TIFFS to PDF's i'll be happy...but I don't want to shell out $300 for distiller.

Originally posted by: notfred

Originally posted by: Liviathan
So I do a lot of investing...IRA, Roth IRA, Mutual Fund, Regular Brokerage, Bank acct's, and own a couple of properties that I rent out.

So I decided to scan all my statements and bills and such. That way I don't need to worry about keeping folders and looking for crap.

I am using the scanning Util. that comes with OfficeXP. Its scans stuff to tiff and OCR's so it can be search. It's pretty neat.

Just wondering if anyone has done anything like this? and is there a way to convert PDF files to the same format tiffs? Right now my bank can give me my statement in PDF but I hate having two different formats, call me anal.

Um, PDF is a much better format for storing documents than tiffs. What you're saying is akin to "I have a bunch of gif graphics, and some text files. I hate having two different formats though, so can I turn my text files into gif imges?"

 

[mcveigh]

I am helping an accoutnants office try to go paperless.

so far they have got visioneer strobe pro scanners link
it comes with paperport software I installed adobe acrobat (full version) on all station with the scanners. the paper port software works with it.

you put a piece of paper in the scanner, it senses it and pulls it through. then it opens up the software. you just drag your page that was scanned over to the pdf icon. that's it.

 

[Liviathan]

Yeah i think i will take everything to PDF. A lot of my statements I can get in PDF and I wasn't aware of that.

One question how can i make the files searchable from the windows find command? So i can find stuff inside the pdf files?

 

[AmigaMan]

three works for you BACK IT UP!!! And do it regularly. I lost some financial data from last year due to an unexpected HD crash. Sucks, but I had paper backups. Problem is it's scattered in several folders in a filing cabinent somewhere. Oh well, my CD burner will be getting a workout this year...

 

[DaveSimmons]

Another reminder to BACK IT UP!! and keep backups off-site as well (safety deposit box or family member are both good). Also don't throw away your old backup CDs / DVDs since sometimes you get a defective blank that only seems to record correctly or has defects that rot it within a year.

 

[Liviathan]

Yeah thats my plan.
I just can't take having so many folders full of crap. All types of statements and agreements.

 

[XMan]

You'll be back . . . they alwaaaaaaaaaaays come back . . . muahahahahahahahahahahahahaahaha!

- Xerox Man