About eight years ago I was in a minor dispute with the Tax Office and they requested bank statements for the previous five years.

Not a problem I tell the accountant, they’re in a box in the basement storeroom and I’ll send them to you by the end of the month.

It was not to be. A wild storm, a blocked drain, and the storeroom was flooded. By the time I realised what had happened, about three days later, the documents were a solid brick of sodden paper.

Many phone calls later, the bank finally delivered the needed records, at a price — a big price. Only consolation the ATO agreed with our figures in the end.

I imagined travelling with seven years of business records and started feeling a bit depressed. Then sometime last year I got this from my bank:

Smart Statements You can now choose to view, download and save up to the last 7 years of your statements online free of charge. View your statements online 24/7 within NAB Internet Banking by selecting “account info” then “View statements”.

Good timing for my travels. My paper files gets lighter by the day.

Now I’ve got to find a way to lighten my load of books.