It's hard to remember all of those passwords for different sites, and writing them all down isn't safe, so how do you keep up with them all? Start a separate free email account (yahoo, hotmail, gmail, etc) just to keep up with those passwords. Email them to yourself at that account, with the name of the site as the subject. Then you can look them up anytime you need them quickly and easily!
By Jana from NC
I have given this lots of thought and have figured out a simple way to have a unique password for every site I visit with only needing to remember 3 words.
Instead of random letters for passwords, create an 8 word sentence (with at least one number in it) that's memorable to you. Use a song lyric, favorite line from a book or movie or personal statement.
Keep your passwords on the back of a picture in a frame that is somewhere you can easily access. That way, you will always have your passwords available, but someone else won't know they are there!
Regarding the problem remembering passwords, etc., I have always used former addresses which always have numbers and capital letters. Also, grandchildren's names with their date of birth.
I had a difficult time keeping track of my computer passwords. I had kept a file on my computer to refer back to as needed but I had to search back through all the passwords and websites.
To keep track of all my internet usernames and passwords for banking, bills etc. I just typed them all in catagories of: site, username, password then printed them out and taped them inside my computer cabinet door.
I have found that it is best to keep a hard copy of my e-mail address book and user names and passwords, just in case of computer loss or my memory failure. I use a 3 by 5 inch spiral notecard book.
When I get an email to help me reset it, I go back to it after I have reset the password and type it in that email and resend it to myself.
Use a phrase or an abbreviation of a phrase that you can remember and a series of numbers for your password. For example "i am crazy about dogs" can be "iacad" then add numbers and a special character at the end.
My DH is a wonderful guy in most respects but he absolutely refuses to learn some things. I get so tired of a grown up Korean War vet hollering at me; "What's our email address?"
I keep my most visited web sites with user id's and passwords written down on a little notebook and locked in a safe. Before I get online, I reference back to the ones I want to visit, then return the notebook back to the safe.
When you need a numeric password, use a phone number of a family member to remember the password, post a note on or near your computer with the name of the person whose number you used.
I have a unique way for remembering my passwords. I came up with a simple sentence that I can remember, for instance:"I love hot fudge sundaes and chocolate cake 2 !" My actual password would be: ilhfs&cc2!
Not necessarily a "thrifty" tip, but a time/trouble saving. If you're need a security code word or password you can use a phone number of a friend or family member that's ingrained in your long-term memory, along with their initials.
If you have a computer program that remembers all of your passwords for you for all of the websites you visit, you can get very dependent on that for serving as your "memory". If your system were to fail, you would probably be hard pressed to remember all of your passwords.