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Backing up and storing financial data
By Daniel | April 18, 2008
A critical part of managing your finances is where and how you store your financial data and how you back it up. With all the work that goes into managing income and expenses and creating budgets it’s all information we want to keep safe and secure.
It should be protected against:
- Natural disasters such as fires, floods, earthquakes, etc.
- Theft from online, or physically from your home.
- Failure of software or hardware used to store and manage it.
Storing Data
- Password protected on your computer
- External hard drive or flash drive that is removable from the computer
Storing the data in a password protected computer or folder will prevent unauthorized access if the computer were to be physically stolen during a home robbery. There was a show on TV called, It Takes a Thief, and the purpose of the show was to demonstrate what would happen if someone broke into your house and then how to make changes to prevent it. One reoccurring item that was stolen was the home owner’s computer that contained financial information, enough for identity theft.
Many flash thumb drives have built in file encryption that requires a password, but if the data is not protected it should be in a locked box or safe. This will protect it against theft.
Backing up Data
Once you have financial data it is extremely important to have a second copy or back it up. I have lost a few months of data and it was harder to re-enter it the second time around. I try to backup at least one time per month, if not more. The back-up copy should be in a different location from the original in case of fire, flood, theft, etc.
Backup Options:
- Separate external hard drive or flash drive from the original
- Online data storage
- Burned on to a CD or DVD
Examples:Seagate External hard drive | Flash Drives | Sentry Fireproof hard drive
My current system includes keeping all financial data on a protected flash drive and when I’m not using it, I keep it in a fireproof safe that is bolted down. I then have two back ups; a copy on a rewritable CD, and a second on a external hard drive that is kept in the safe as well. Along with my finances, I keep a copy of all important documents backed up. My next step is to store a backup copy at an online data storage site or at another secure location.
Topics: Budgeting-Planning, Personal Finances, Security |