E-banking

by Jessica Wood

In my last two columns, I talked about how to reduce paper use and how to receive less junk mail. But what about the mail that you want (or at least need) to get? There may not be a way to avoid paying bills every month, but it is possible to have less impact on the environment and even save money while doing it.

Online banking and billing are becoming more and more common. Many major banks, credit card companies, utilities and insurance companies have some kind of paperless billing system available. However, there's no consistency and the options vary for each company. For example, my cable company lets me pay my bill online through their website, but won't stop sending me the paper bills. On the other hand, my car insurance company sends me "e-bills" that I pay using my bank's online system. While I wish that I could do all of this through a single website, I still find it very convenient to pay my bills online. Every bill I receive electronically is that much less paper to recycle. It's cheaper, too--a box of checks will last me forever, since I write only one or two checks a month instead of eight, and I almost never have to buy stamps anymore.

Signing up for online billing is just a matter of investigating the options for each company that you deal with. It may be advertised in the fine print on your paper bill, or you may have to check out their website. Some companies also have the option of paying your bill through an automated phone system. This isn't quite as convenient, but it does save paper. Of course, you'll want to verify that any site you give personal information to is a site with good security policies, but personally, I've never had a problem with that.

Your bank may also provide you with an online banking option. If your bank has this capablity, sign up pronto! By using your banks online bill paying system you maintain complete control of when your money goes out of your account, unlike when you give creditors permission debit your account each month. Paying all your bills through your online bank account can make balancing your checkbook very simple and will provide you with up-to-the-minute account balances.

So go on, try it out--save time, save stamps, save the planet!