By: Audrey Thomas
As we keep less paper in our midst and attempt to store more electronically, we must be mindful of filing strategies on devices such as laptops, notepads, and smartphones. Storing data and documents in the cloud is a common practice given the options we have with services like Dropbox, Google Drive, iCloud, and One Drive.
As someone who travels a lot for work, I like the idea of being able to access important documents wherever I am. For example, I was driving a rental car in Texas and got pulled over. Thanks to Dropbox, I was able to show proof of insurance by accessing a copy of my car insurance. Too bad the officer didn’t give me any points for that.
Besides your car insurance information, other items to store in the cloud:
- Copies of all credit cards (both sides)
- Health insurance card
- Driver’s license
- Passport
Using a scan app, such as TurboScan, will make it easy to turn a multi-page document into one .pdf vs. taking multiple images with your camera.
Just a note on security: Because no cloud storage service is 100% protected against a breach, assign a password to open any document that contains information such as birth dates, social security numbers, account numbers, etc. Taking time to protect these types of information will be time well spent.
And if you missed my video tip on how to create a memorable, yet secure and effective password, you can view it here.
