Rob was an entrepreneur, and professor, but when he thought about sustainability and conservation, money wasn’t the first thing that came
to mind. That all changed the day he simply declined an ATM receipt. He looked around the ground in front of the ATM machine and there were receipts scattered everywhere like gum wrappers. “Right then I decided to ‘just say no’ to paper and the time it takes moving my finances around… paycheck, deposits and withdrawals, balance, stock confirmations, and accounting,” said Rob. Managing your finances, it turns out, is one of the biggest sources of litter in your lifestyle. The seemingly small step of declining a receipt at the ATM could lead to a big step of consolidating your financing, all in one place. He chose Fidelity, as an online brokerage firm. Rob receives his paycheck, make stock trades, pay companies, check my balance, use a credit card, and write a few checks all electronically from one source. Rob hasn’t used a bank in ten years except when he needs a cash advance or to notarize a document. “When I see people waiting in long line to deposit their paycheck on Friday’s, it seems very archaic,” says Rob. If you haven’t taken the first move here are a few tips.
1. Decline ATM receipts. ATM receipts are one of the leading sources of litter. Save hundreds of millions of pieces of paper.
2. Request auto-deposit for your paychecks. You’ll save time and fuel of going to the bank.
3. Electronic File your taxes with the IRS. Get your refund electronically too. Get IRS tax forms off the Internet.
4. Online Banking. Make payments, receive your bills and check balances online. Instead of wasting time and energy waiting in line for a bank teller.
5. Electronic Accounting. Keep track of and reconcile bills in Quickbooks by Intuit or other accounting software.
6. Prospectuses. Read online rather than book form. If everyone did this, the saving in cost would rank in the list of Fortune 1000 companies.
7. Socially Responsible Investing. Talk to Fidelity or your broker about SRIs. There are more than two hundred mutual funds that are green oriented.
