What Papers Do I Need to Keep?

A.,

Here's a great article from www.bankrate.com that addresses how long to keep various records.

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/mtg/20000518h.asp

C.

anything that i know can be requested electronically, it's gone ... i just dont' see a reason to hold onto things just because someone says so. we keep one month at a time on cc statments to check for fraud, payments applied, etc.... bank statements, we bank online so once it's reconciled and is okay... it's shredded... i'm not a fan of the clutter either.

If it's receipts for stuff like grocery store, etc. go ahead and shred it. If on your taxes you do medical deductions, health care or family spending accounts, donations, school loan interest, mortage interest, etc. then keep that info. If for some reason you are ever audited you will need to have those records to prove your returns are accurate. You probably don't need to keep that stuff though for more than a few years, 2 years minimum possibly 5 max.

We usually keep them a year! Once we get our tax returns back we throw away/shred/ everything!

K.

Hi A.,
Its a gamble when it comes to all the paperwork keep in mind with house bills, credit cards and bank statements all is on line for you to retrieve or request. Unless there are some major concerns you have with any of them, feel free to purge them (ie Shred after payment confirmed)however I have a file for eeach months bills and shred last years when this years are being paid. As far as taxes, 7 years however I have a large container that I have designated all for taxes. It does not take up much room and I have each year noted for easy reference. When it comes to closing accounts or medical bills, I ensure I have a letter from the company stating paid in full, with date, account number and reference # if applicable....then I shred the rest however on occassion if I've had an issue with the company, I'll hang on to all communication. Receipts for services, pending on the service I staple it to my warranty or have a file on house renovations since I track how much we have put into our home, sometimes when you sell, requests are made for such receipts, also they may come in handy when you challenge your property taxes. Ask your accountant if there are any write-offs on your taxes for the services before purging. Hope this gets you started. You can look into professional organizers to help you if you are that concerned. I believe its NAPO (national association professional oranizers)google them, they may have a list of organizers in the area. One more thing, I have a large file box for each of my sons and have created files K-12, and some additional files like artwork, made for mommy and daddy, certificates etc. It has been awesome to have a home for all of the wonderful things they accomplished in thier life. I plan on giving it to them later in life when they have kids of thier own. I have my old report cards and its fun to pull out my report card for the same grade they are in and share with them the good, the bad and the comments. Good luck. Doreen