Passwords You Can Remember

Tired of writing all of your passwords on little slips of paper? Frustrated when you try to sign into a website and forget your password? Irked when you try to create a password and the site needs lower case letters, 3 capital letters, 4 numbers, and a sample of your DNA? Looking for a way to make secure passwords you can remember? Here are some tricks to making complex passwords AND remembering them!
I have a bajillion passwords. Yep! A bajillion! I have passwords for social media, bank accounts, and my 10 gmails. I have passwords for school, shopping, and work. I have passwords for websites like Amazon and my library. My kids share some of these with me such as my ever-important Netflix and Hulu accounts. Passwords drive me absolutely crazy! They are the most troubling things... because I have to remember ALL of them!

We have all learned that secure passwords are a combination of numbers, capital letters, lower case letters, and a symbol to top it all off. But how do we remember all of that gobbly goop? Oh, I know, write down on a sticky note and put it by your computer! So NOT safe!

So how do you remember all of those letters, numbers, ad symbols for each and every website?

Take a phrase like a favorite quote, a favorite scripture, or a favorite saying. It needs to be something you are familiar with and will remember. I like scriptures because they have easy numbers when you add chapter and verse. Once you have the phrase you are halfway there! Now we are going to turn it into a password.

Let's use this quote from Dr. Seuss: Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one.

Use the first letter of each word to start forming your password: twgtwftiao

To continue to remember the password, say the quote in your head as you type the first letter of each word.

Let's make the password a little stronger.

Change one of the words to a number. For example, change the word "one" to the number "1": twgtwftia1

Pretty good, but it still won't meet some websites' criteria.

A little stronger... add a capital letter to the beginning of each sentence: TwgTwfTia1

Almost there...

Add a symbol to the end such as an exclamation mark: TwgTwfTia1!

Now that's a good password that I can remember! But is is only 1 good password, and I have a bazillion (Yep! A bazillion!) different websites.

Here's the magical tip that will make your day!

 Keep the same BASE password but change it slightly for each website that you use. Add the initials of the website the the beginning or the end of your password.

For example, for Teachers Pay Teachers, I could put: TwgTwfTia1!tpt adding "tpt" to the end of the password, and for Facebook, I could use this password: fbTwgTwfTia! by adding "fb" to the beginning of the phrase. Another tip: always use the same pattern. Either stick with the beginning or the ending of your base password, but be consistent! Much easier to remember these passwords if you stick to the same template. 

Ha! Take that you evil passwords! I have now effectively cut you down to size. No more bajillion bazillion passwords! I only have one BASE password with a pattern to fit any website!


Still need a written record? Check out this cool FREE password recording sheet!