How do you carry around all those passwords/ pin numbers securely?
Writing it on a post-it in my wallet seems like a really bad idea...

I use a program called eWallet. It has Windows PC/mobile, Mac/iOS, Blackberry, and Android versions. One remeberable password allows me access to all the pure hash passwords w/ a random generator. I also use it to store other info such as serial numbers, clothes sizes, club memberships, etc.

I use LinkeSOFT's Secret! It uses strong encryption and syncs the database between my iPhone and my PC. Before my iPhone I ran it on my Treo and several PalmOS PDAs before that. I like it a lot.

No affiliation other than as a customer.

Do you really have that many that need to carry them around with you? If you do, sure, get some electronic app/gadget that stores them all encrypted and accessible via a master password (which you will have to remember). This can be on a SmartPhone, on a thumbdrive, etc. depending on your needs. But consider first, do you really need that many when you're mobile that you can't just memorize them?

guess I'm old fashoned...typically use favorite authors surname, stored on my cell phone, last four digits of the phone number is the pin

Generally, the program should have strong encryption. If your computer/phone is stolen, a moderately skilled hacker could hack your program and then have access to all your passwords. I need to upgrade my password program to practice what I preach.

"Not writing passwords down" is not an option for me. I have over 100 passwords or combinations I may need at any given moment. My job alone has about 12 different things that require a password, and those passwords require odd combinations of numbers and unique characters.

Oh yeah, I include padlock combinations in there. How many times have you left a padlock alone for 2 years and had to cut it or trash it because you couldn't remember the combination? I simply don't have enough time to go through the whole process of resetting a password, or buying a new padlock, every time I forget one.

I just store padlock combinations as phone numbers. For example, I might have a "phone number" for "Sonny" (fictitious) ... 217-0412. Who would know that Sonny is one of our horses, and that the padlock combination to his supply cabinet is 17-04-12 (discard the first digit of the "phone number").

A hockey gear locker combination could be stored under "Wayne Gretzky" or one of your other favorite players.

A three digit banking PIN could be stored with four random digits prepended to it under "Butch Cassidy" (because he robbed "banks")

Etc. This is good enough for me, for the non-critical stuff. Come to think of it, the only "critical stuff" I'd be accessing will always be from home, not while mobile. I haven't used a PIN anywhere for years (I use charge cards, not debit cards).

keypass is another popular one. You can have multiple 'safes' to keep different things separate, for example home and work stuf (be sure work is ok with it of course). So you categorize and then have just a few master passwords depending on the category/security level.
I have a half dozen 'single sign on' passwords for work, then all the different utilities to pay bills, multiple bank accounts for myself and my kids, and then all the various forums.
Setup one 'safe' for all the joint accounts that you and your wife use so if anything were to happen to one of you the other has access.
Most password programs will have hooks into your web browser so it will put in the right user/password for you once you enter the master password.

Here's a common way of remembering numbers. I just write mine this way on the device or card. With the numbers assigned to different sounds to the ones here.

You build associations between each individual number and a sound. Since words are easier to remember than numbers, you construct a word from each group of numbers and then memorize the word(s).
Each number is assigned a consonant.

0 - z, s, soft c - "z" is the first letter of zero. The others have a similar sound
1 - d, t - t has one downstroke d has as similar sound(some variants include th)
2 - n - n has two downstrokes
3 - m - three downstrokes, also "3" looks like "m" on its side
4 - r - last letter of four
5 - l - L is the Roman Numeral for 50
6 - j, sh, ch, soft g - a script j has a lower loop / g is almost a 6 rolled around
7 - k, hard c, hard g, q, qu - capital K contains two sevens
8 - f, v - script f looks like a figure-8 (some variants include th)
9 - b, p - P is a mirror-image 9, b sounds similar
Notice that similar sounds are grouped together. The system goes by sound rather than spelling, and the unused sounds (vowels and the consonants "w", "h" and "y") can be put into a word anywhere without changing the value.

E.g
"ledge" = 56.

qjs

Ouch, my brain hurts trying to understand that.