Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To find stuff like this so very hard?

42 replies

Arduouslife · 16/03/2023 07:10

I will probably get a kicking here but am waiting for DVLA to open to try to sort this.

So example - try to log in to see my drivers licence details. Can’t. DH insists I must have my NI no wrong, I think I’m right, I try to log into a payslip at work to check, I can’t. So DVLA apparently don’t have my correct details and I can’t log in anywhere to check.

It is so exasperating. Like we need documents for a solicitor and I can’t find what I need as everything is in different names.

I know I need to sort this. It just doesn’t seem to register in my mind until I need it to and then it’s too late.

OP posts:
carriedout · 16/03/2023 07:14

It is hard now, we used to have drawer with paper things, now we have to log in to multiple systems.

But you also sound disorganised - your NINO could be stored on paper, I'm surprised you have nothing with it on.

It is worth the time investment to set aside a day to get this sorted out.

Original poster
Arduouslife · 16/03/2023 07:19

I am disorganised, I agree, this is what I find so very hard! And the problem is actually having a day. Life is so busy. It’s a good idea to actually set one aside though, even if it may have to be in a couple of weeks. Thanks for that idea, it’s obvious but one that is clear when suggested to me.

OP posts:
jumperoozles · 16/03/2023 07:22

I was talking about stuff like this the other day with my mum - how life has been made so stressful now with all this usernames, passwords, log ins. Sometimes the simplest task becomes a mammoth task.
Organisation is the key but it requires time to make it organised eg organised folders and files.

Whatisthisanyidea · 16/03/2023 07:22

i have teens like this and I get them to screen shot documents and email them to themselves and store them in a folder
Car insurance
Tax
House Insurance

I also email myself the log in details and questions - numbers etc and screen shot anything else that might be useful

Once you get used to doing this, knowing the havoc or not doing so - you kind of remember -

Bodybags · 16/03/2023 07:31

I get you OP, 100%.

I don’t know about you but I feel overwhelmed by it and a sense of utter dread when I need to deal with this kind of stuff.

Passwords, codes, logins all never ever run smoothly.
When you repeatedly get the “login details wrong” or don’t match or trying to navigate “forgot password “ never works for me. I go round and round and round in fucking circles.

I can’t tell you how many things I have just given up on and deleted.

Whatisthisanyidea · 16/03/2023 07:35

We are launching a new app at work and the amount of forgotten passwords is high - they are annoying and want more and more information just to log on and do the companies job for them - and the lack of speaking to an actually person - you wonder who’s running the show - adults or computers.

Then the argument that kids don’t communicate? Neither do adults.

kasho5 · 16/03/2023 07:37

Can you ring HMRC and check with them? Do you have any old payslips with the number on?

RampantIvy · 16/03/2023 07:37

Whatisthisanyidea · 16/03/2023 07:22

i have teens like this and I get them to screen shot documents and email them to themselves and store them in a folder
Car insurance
Tax
House Insurance

I also email myself the log in details and questions - numbers etc and screen shot anything else that might be useful

Once you get used to doing this, knowing the havoc or not doing so - you kind of remember -

I do this. My password list is password protected and named as something else.
I take photos of documents or download them as PDFs and store them in an Important Documents folder.

It makes it easier to find stuff because I can just use the search function to find everything rather than rummaging in random cupboards and drawers.

Zippedydoo123 · 16/03/2023 07:37

I am anally retentive and have a password notebook in paper form. I also have A4 size folders for e.g. Car papers pension folder health folder self employment tax and Nat ins folder etc.

RampantIvy · 16/03/2023 07:38

I also have a Where Stuff Is spreadsheet for rarely used items and stuff stored in the loft.

I'll get me anorak Grin

JanglyBeads · 16/03/2023 07:40

@RampantIvy genius!

Howtohideasausage · 16/03/2023 07:42

I’m the same, I just can’t get to grips with it. The sense of relief when a system just lets me in is huge.

OriginalUsername2 · 16/03/2023 07:44

Arduouslife · 16/03/2023 07:19

I am disorganised, I agree, this is what I find so very hard! And the problem is actually having a day. Life is so busy. It’s a good idea to actually set one aside though, even if it may have to be in a couple of weeks. Thanks for that idea, it’s obvious but one that is clear when suggested to me.

I have a single phone note with all this type of info on it after many years of these last minute panics and being sent round in technical bloody loops 😫

All our NI numbers, reference numbers, child benefit number and user ids, the wifi password (not real “passwords” obvs).

I email it to myself every time I update it so there’s a back-up if I delete it by accident.

thistlescot · 16/03/2023 07:54

I set up a whatsapp group with partner called "family info" and have sent things like my ni number (with "thistlescot national insurance number" as a follow on message so it's easy to find in a search) / photo of passport page / NHS number / drivers license etc so I can easily find things without having to have the paper copy on me. All our documents are stored in concertina folders categorised e.g passports / home / car /sentimental (for each member of the family) /utilities / instructions etc

Some people find these things harder then others (me) but there is nothing wrong with this, it's just about finding a workaround that works for you and fits into your life, everyone is different so find what works for you and be kind enough to yourself in the process.

RampantIvy · 16/03/2023 07:59

I also have an expanding file containing important documents in like passports, education certificates, birth certificates etc. This is kept in a safe.

I sound so anally retentive don't I?

I admit to getting the idea of emailing a password list to myself from a post on mumsnet, and I think tips like this are so useful to help disorganised people get their lives in order a little more.

thethinendofthewedge · 16/03/2023 08:01

This kind of stuff kills my mood! Log in, user name, password, passcode....argghh! I know it's partly about security but it's time consuming and frustrating. As for ringing a helpline (e.g. HMRC) I have lost many hours being on hold never to get dealt with. Modern life!

BeckettandCastle · 16/03/2023 08:05

I use 'notes' on my phone to store all my admin. So it's got passwords for log ins (all different), mine DHs and the kids NHS numbers, NI numbers, passport numbers etc. It's all backed up to the cloud so if my phone gets lost etc it's all still there.

I also take photos of stuff and add them to our family WhatsApp group so theres a record of them there and I'm going to use another posters suggestion to email them to myself too.

I like doing life admin so I don't find it a chore but completely understand why others do as it takes a huge amount of time, especially when no one in my family does it & there's 5 of us!

Yorkshirelass04 · 16/03/2023 08:06

I have deliberately memorised my NI number and passport number to reduce the faff and anxiety of not having them to hand!

Original poster
Arduouslife · 16/03/2023 08:19

The thing with putting things somewhere where you’ll remember them … but then if you don’t?

I am confident my NI no is right, but computer says no.

OP posts:
Custardbanana · 16/03/2023 08:43

Use a password manager app. I don't know any of my login details. I only know the password to the manager.

You can have 1 username and password and it stores all that login information for you. You can add the extension onto your browser and add it to your phone and they will automatically sync. Anytime you create a new login and password it will ask if you want to save it. When you go to a login page it will ask if you want to auto fill the details. You can also store payment card details, addresses, phone numbers. All encrypted and safe.

SnackyOnassis · 16/03/2023 09:25

We have a shared google sheet with all our info on it - not passwords, we share them more securely elsewhere, but where our different bank accounts are, NI number, pension info, notes on where paper copies of things are like wills, who to contact in case of X for each of us.
I was going for a major operation a couple of years ago and basically thought of it as a primer for my husband in case I didn't make it back, and while it might sound morbid, it gives me such peace of mind to know if anything happens to me he'll be able to easily pick up the threads and find everything he needs. And vice versa!

Definitely worth taking a day to pull one together OP!

FetlocksBlowing · 16/03/2023 09:44

Custardbanana · 16/03/2023 08:43

Use a password manager app. I don't know any of my login details. I only know the password to the manager.

You can have 1 username and password and it stores all that login information for you. You can add the extension onto your browser and add it to your phone and they will automatically sync. Anytime you create a new login and password it will ask if you want to save it. When you go to a login page it will ask if you want to auto fill the details. You can also store payment card details, addresses, phone numbers. All encrypted and safe.

In theory I do this too but it all goes wrong when you keep the master password on a note on your phone but not saved on iCloud, then the phone gets stolen and you are absolutely buggered.

This is where I am right now. I am taking lots of ideas from this thread though!

Coffeecoffeeinmytummy · 16/03/2023 09:49

Totally agree. I had a small emotional breakdown on the phone to a random bloke from HSBC once because I got locked out of my banking app because I couldn’t remember the password and then I also couldn’t get onto online banking as it needed me to use the app to create a “digital secure key” or some other shite than can just fuck off to be honest! So then I had to try phoning them and I couldn’t get through, tried multiple times waiting on the phone for literally hours and then I was put through to some automated system and the options weren’t clear and I tried to get it to repeat them but it actually sent me back to the beginning of the whole bloody thing and I actually cried with frustration. Eventually I managed to speak to a real life human being and I remember DHs face when he heard me say “all I want to do is pay my mortgage and my credit card, WHY WONT YOU LET ME” 😂 poor man at the bank probably thought I’d lost the plot. Which I had by that point!

Nc252525673 · 16/03/2023 09:52

I use Last Pass app for all passwords. I wrote that password down and put it in a safe place. So safe I can't remember where. Handily I use the app about 24 times a day so always remember the password! Have email folders for house, car, travel, bank and one for each of the kids where I put all relevant docs.

However, there's piles of paperwork everywhere in the house that I don't have time to sort and I think I still haven't updated our address on some records so apologies to the people that brought our old house. 😫

Peterbear · 16/03/2023 09:53

I hear you OP. Hate doing any life admin these days as everything just feels so bloody DIFFICULT! Hate having passwords in my life. Much happier with a bit of paper but hey that's progress.not.