Storing bank statements on computer - newbie

[wong]

I'm a relative computer novice and need some basic advice. I use windows 10 on a home desktop.
I want to download and keep copies of my bank statements from 3 banks (gone paperless) as I have to do self assessment tax now.

This is what I think I need to do:-
Create folders - Bank 1, bank 2, bank 3.
Create files within each folder - ( for Bank 1) - 2021 current acc, 2021 savings acc, 2021 investments acc, Other bank letters. Then same for each each year. Then repeat for each bank. I think labelling by year is easier than tax year.
Download statements; relabel as Current, Jan 2021 (through to Dec) and pop in "2021 current acc" folder. Repeat for other monthly statements.
Add a shortcut to the desktop for easier access.


Questions :-
Any tips or corrections to the above method?
Do I download - "Save as type" - PDF File(*.pdf) or All Files (*.*). Does All files just use more memory?

(Security - it's a home desktop which I use mostly. The kids occasionally use it for homework. I only use Windows Defender updated regularly. I'm not so loaded, I'd be woried about people knowing my financial situation.)

[anonymous-user]

Save as pdfs.

And give them file names in the following format:

2022 01Jan
2022 02 Feb

Then when you sort by name they will list chronologically.

If you’re worried about security, encrypt the HD with Bitlocker. Just don’t lose the code (you’ll be asked for it every time you turn the computer on).

[bitchstewie]

Usually when you download it will already know it's a PDF so you probably just need to change the filename once it's in your Downloads folder from whateverrandomname.pdf to jan23.pdf or whatever.

Make sure to keep a backup. That's the bit a lot of people overlook.

[ARHarh]

Sounds about right if you are happy with that format. But things you really need to consider.

File naming with dates always works better if the date format is like this 2023-07-02 as they will then display in date order better.
Consider some form of cloud storage, google drive, one drive or whatever apple use, if you have access, there are normally apps to allow you to sinc stuff from pc to the cloud.
set up automatic backups of you folders preferably to an offsite location or a different storge medium, portable drive or such like.

You can never have too many copies of important data like this. And when fixing some ones PC it is always the first question you will be asked, "where is you backup?"

[Doofus]

The banks will already have 'backups'. You can download statements whenever you need them and destroy them immediately because you can go and download them again as needed.

I have documents I need to keep and they are on an external SSD and a USB stick. Password protected, but also physically hidden.

[wong]

Cheers for the prompt replies.
So dating is the American style : year- month - date.
Back up - probably on a USB and I'll see if Google Drive works.

[wong]

Doofus said:

The banks will already have 'backups'. You can download statements whenever you need them and destroy them immediately because you can go and download them again as needed.

I have documents I need to keep and they are on an external SSD and a USB stick. Password protected, but also physically hidden.

The banks only allow me to download statements from the last 5? (or 7?) years.
They probably do have older statements, however, you would probably have to pay per sheet and admin fees etc.

[bitchstewie]

The backups piece is a wider question tbh.

Lots of people totally overlook them.

Google Drive is a sensible choice.

[Mr Pointy]

Doofus said:

The banks will already have 'backups'. You can download statements whenever you need them and destroy them immediately because you can go and download them again as needed.

I have documents I need to keep and they are on an external SSD and a USB stick. Password protected, but also physically hidden.

The bank data might not go back a s far as you would want though - six years is the most any of mine are available online.

[Doofus]

Mr Pointy said:

The bank data might not go back a s far as you would want though - six years is the most any of mine are available online.

I've never needed that many, let alone more. If I did, the bank could supply them.

[Penny Whistle]

wong said:

Cheers for the prompt replies.
So dating is the American style : year- month - date.
Back up - probably on a USB and I'll see if Google Drive works.

On a point of detail, American date format is usually month-day-year (e.g. Jul 2, 2023 or 07-02-23 if numeric). Impossible to sort.

[thebraketester]

You might find downloading your statements as a .csv file and opening them in excel easier to deal with come tax time.

[jesusbuiltmycar]

I use Cryptomater to create an encrypted folder on a cloud drive. That way I have backups and if the cloud service I use is compromised the hackers would still need to crack the 20+ character long key to decrypt the folder. Since Cryptomater has no central server as its own compromising that password is very difficult - the only downside if the password is forgotten the file files are lost.

[eeLee]

thebraketester said:

You might find downloading your statements as a .csv file and opening them in excel easier to deal with come tax time.

I would expect statements to be PDF/A

they may have some data that can be downloaded in other formats but that's going to be the standard for statements.

[wyson]

jesusbuiltmycar said:

I use Cryptomater to create an encrypted folder on a cloud drive. That way I have backups and if the cloud service I use is compromised the hackers would still need to crack the 20+ character long key to decrypt the folder. Since Cryptomater has no central server as its own compromising that password is very difficult - the only downside if the password is forgotten the file files are lost.

Onedrive has the same thing. Can just stick files in an encrypted vault.

I use an encrypted local partition for sensitive documents, harking back to the days of using mechanical hard disks, the habit has stuck although you wouldn’t really notice the overhead on modern systems encrypting the whole SSD.

[wyson]

Create separate user accounts for your kids. Nothing more annoying that someone buggering up your settings or deleting stuff by accident.

[98elise]

thebraketester said:

You might find downloading your statements as a .csv file and opening them in excel easier to deal with come tax time.

That's what I do. It's easier to search, and produce accounts.

[Steve_H80]

All the advice is good, I do something similar and put the reverse date in the file name (file1 - 23070101), but use whatever works for you.
I would be more concerned with security and backup.
You say the kids use the machine for homework. If you all have individual login accounts with your own name and password you're OK (your kids can't get at your files), but if you're all using the same account everyone can get to your files and you are at risk.
The other issue is backing up the data, hopefully you already do this but if not start doing it now. No, not later, NOW, immediately.

[wong]

Steve_H80 said:

All the advice is good, I do something similar and put the reverse date in the file name (file1 - 23070101), but use whatever works for you.
I would be more concerned with security and backup.
You say the kids use the machine for homework. If you all have individual login accounts with your own name and password you're OK (your kids can't get at your files), but if you're all using the same account everyone can get to your files and you are at risk.
The other issue is backing up the data, hopefully you already do this but if not start doing it now. No, not later, NOW, immediately.

Cheers. Mostly sorted now (except the USB back up...I know, I know). Finally learned how to sort and label Files and folders. Kids have seperate logins on my desktop. They also have a computer each - chromebook, laptop or desktop, so rarely use mine. Hard copies printed out, backed up to Google Drive.