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08-16-2021 10:05 PM
An accountant once told me to keep tax returns for 7 years and any papers associated with any improvements on your house. You can get rid of the rest.
I still keep too much. But I'm glad I did several years ago.
It's been a long time, but I used to pay bills on the phone before you could do it online. I recorded the person's name and date. I never had a problem until one day. The guy I talked to gave me a fake name. It was a substantial bill, and somehow he deposited the funds into his own account. I was getting notices for non payment, and the company blamed me, UNTIL he did the same thing to someone else. I sent a copy of our bank statement with most personal information and other deposits and withdrawals blacked out to the company's legal department, who then contacted me. It turns out he swindled others too. What a mess! I'm glad I kept that bank statement, but now of course, I could get it online.
08-17-2021 12:23 AM
I keep all statements for just a couple of months. CC's, utilities, etc.
I like to give it about three months before I shred them, just in case any issue pops up. I generally store them and all the other stuff that needs shredded inside the shredder. I tend to let the drawer fill up, then spend an evening watching tv and shredding.
08-17-2021 08:30 AM
Once a bill gets paid, any kind of bill, it gets shredded.
If I need to look something up I can do it online.
08-18-2021 01:37 PM
I don't keep anything because all my statements are sent electronically. If I need something, I can print out the statement from the website, but honestly in all my adult life I think I've had to do that once in dealing with the DMV as proof of residency. Years ago I used to keep them all. I had a filing cabinet just for statements. What a mess when it came time to get rid of them all.
08-20-2021 08:28 AM
Hi @catter70 ... My mother also kept papers from the 1960's. When she passed away in 2009 I had to shred all of them since many contained confidential information.
08-25-2021 09:19 AM
Oh I can so relate. My late husband saved everything. When he passed i decided to see what was in all the boxes he squirled away. Seems his parents were also paper hoarders. My MIL passed in 1991 so hubby just brought all his parents papers to our home. Found checks, bank books and tax returns from the 1940's to present. Took 35 bags of shred to get rid of it all. I am still finding stuff,lol. I keep cc statements and utility bills for 1 year, and bank statements for 2 years. I still prefer paper statements, just not comfortable with electronic yet.
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