Passwords are now required for many websites, including social networking, online banking, investments, insurance, utilities, shopping, photo storage, media, membership and many more. Add in email and work applications, and it is nearly impossible to manage all of them.

The average person has approximately twenty passwords, and that number is growing by 20% each year. Frankly, I'm surprised it is not higher! For people who do a lot of paperless transactions and online shopping, that number can easily exceed one hundred. So what is the best way to organize these passwords to keep them safe and secure? Here are some different options:

• Good: Paper - Like anything else you want to organize, you need to create a "home" for your passwords. Having a dedicated password notebook will help by getting the passwords out of your head, off scraps of paper, and into one location where you know you can always find them. Although this option is easy, free and helps you to better organize your passwords, there are several disadvantages to this approach. First, it is not secure. Anyone who comes into your home could discover them. Second, if you lose your notebook, you do not have a backup. And third, if you want to access your passwords while you are away from home, you are out of luck.
  
  
• Better: Electronic Document - Another option is to create a word processing document or spreadsheet to keep track of all of your passwords. In addition to being easy and free, you can perform a search of these documents to quickly find the password you are looking for, and the documents can be backed up (external hard drive or online backup). Remote access and security continue to be a concern with this approach. You can improve security by adding a password to the document itself...yes, I know, another password.
  
  
• Best: Password Manager Software - This is my favorite option, especially for those of you juggling many passwords. Password Manager Software will remember all of your passwords and log you into your websites. You only need to remember one password to login to the software. They will also create secure passwords for you if you would like. My favorites are Roboform and LastPass, and they use the same secure encryption as the financial institutions. I chose these because they are secure, accessible from any internet connection, easy and quick.

Whatever option you choose to organize your passwords, get rid of your scraps of paper and create a home for your passwords. This process will save you so much time and frustration!