Every holiday season I find myself joining an unnecessary number of loyalty programs, online shopping portals and club memberships as I purchase gifts and enter competitions in a futile attempt to save money in December.
This inevitably results in me starting the new year with a myriad of new passwords that, my friends, I will never remember.
Everyone reaches a point where they just don't have any more unique 8 letter passwords in them, and the results are an endless amount of time spent re-setting passwords they've long forgotten over, and over, and over again.
If this is familiar, then this is my Holiday Gift for you. I present... a formula for creating and remembering an unlimited number of entirely unique (yes - unique) passwords this holiday season, so you can start the new year with some unbelievable digital cleanliness:
Step 1: Choose a ‘stem’ word for each type of website or account that exists in your world. For example, your stem word for all your Social Media accounts could be based on real life angel Jameela Jamil, your stem word for accounts related to Finance could be Coinsbaby, and your stem word for Entertainment accounts could be Relax.
Step 2: Choose a 3 number sequence that you’ll remember.
Step 3: For every website or account, add the last three letters before the “.com” to the end of your password.
Step 4: If you want to be extra secure, add a different character for each type of account.
Using this formula, my passwords would now be:
FB: Jameela313ook#
Instagram: Jameela313ram#.
Internet banking: Coinsbaby313NAB$
Netflix: Relax313lix*
Spotify: Relax313ify*
They look absolutely bonkers written down, but I tell you, I haven’t forgotten a password in years.
Go forth and let this simplify and streamline your life, and begin 2023 with a little less digital chaos.
Happy Holidays!