Going paperless saves the amount of space I have to devote to saving bits of paper that I will likely never need. It reduces my risk of identity theft. It is better for the environment, especially because most paperless options also eliminate most of the advertising these same companies would send me.

Handling all my accounts online saves me time that I’m not spending waiting in line at physical institutions. I can check all my accounts in five minutes from my desk–this would take me at least an hour in person.

When I lived near a grocery store with a self checkout, I was always out faster than any of the regular cashier lines, and I used fewer bags for my groceries, since I don’t double-bag a single loaf of bread or package of toilet paper. Granted, when the machines break, it can be kind of a pain, but net-net I spent less time in the store when I had self checkouts than I do now.

Maybe I’m strange, but I’d rather take care of most of my business–banking, checking out at the grocery store, and even planning for my retirement–than have some person do it for me. No one’s going to care about it as much as I will, because it’s MY life.

Of course, as we all invest in companies like these (either directly or through investment funds or pension plans) we also benefit from the cost savings in other ways.