Hey Everyone,


I kind of got on a cleaning spree here....I started cleaning out this one cabinet that's next to my computer desk....and found out that I have about half a trashbag full of old financial statements. Things like cell phone bills, credit card bills, dirt bike payments, bank statements, old paycheck stubs, etc...There's no house payments or anything like that in there. I know you're supposed to keep this stuff for awhile, but I don't feel like I really need to prove I paid my cell phone bill back in 2003.

Should I throw it all out? Or maybe from here on out keep it for a month or two and once it clears, toss it??? I'm not tossing out my tax stuff though. I'm only 23, so I've never really cleaned this little cabinet out before...I just kept stuffing them in there.

Thanks for the help/comments/suggestions. :)

I say keep them at least 7 years.

If I got rid of it I would shred all of it. Anything with your #s on it. Shred it

Funny...I did a cleanout like that last month. I now have a HUGE bag full of stuff I need to shred. Too bad you're not allowed to burn stuff in the backyard anymore. This is gonna be a pain in the butt.

I agree...7 years on the retention period.

Sounds like someone is ready for another bonfire :D. I trash old cell phone, cable, credit card bills after 2 months. The only thing I keep are paycheck stubs, tax info, and the truck payments and i'll be trashing the truck payment stubs as soon as it's paid off.

My understanding is to keep general records back 3 years and specific records forever. I keep mine 8 years.

Couple of links:

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/money/news/2006/02/all-that-paperwork-what-to-keep-and-what-to-toss-206/overview/

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

I scan everything to the computer and throw away most of the hard copies. This is awesome for eliminating clutter.

You just have to make sure to back stuff up and may want to set up an encrypted partition.

anything tax related, I save for 7 years. Credit card and bank statements I download electronically and store on computer. Credit card receipts, bank atm receipts, I throw away at end of each month. I keep utility bills, for a year, although PG&E is online now. Any investment docs, I keep for as long as I own the investment, plus 7 years. Payroll stubs are online, although I still have every hardcopy payroll stub dating back to the first one in 1995 and even my handwritten sheet for tips I received for delivering newspapers (dating back to 1989). Keep it manageable, that's what I strive for.

Thanks guys....

Sounds like most of you throw away the less important, and keep more important stuff such as paycheck stubs. I think that's what I'm going to do. I was thinking I should keep my dirt bike payments, but it's paid off and I have the title. I'm living at home with the parents, so I don't really have alot of what I'd call "important" bills that I think need to be kept tract of.

Mainly I hate clutter....my room is a mess right now because last night I went on a spree to throw everything out. :)

5 yrs

Thanks guys....

Sounds like most of you throw away the less important, and keep more important stuff such as paycheck stubs. I think that's what I'm going to do. I was thinking I should keep my dirt bike payments, but it's paid off and I have the title. I'm living at home with the parents, so I don't really have alot of what I'd call "important" bills that I think need to be kept tract of.

Mainly I hate clutter....my room is a mess right now because last night I went on a spree to throw everything out. :)

As far as bike payments,etc. One thing I've done is kept at least one statement/doc of each vehicle loan payment along with at least one old registration plus the bill of sale. For credit cards I keep the closed account confirmation letter. Probably not necessary, but doesn't take up much space and is piece of mind.

5-7 years...burn or shred everything.

If I got rid of it I would shred all of it. Anything with your #s on it. Shred it

We shed ours and I take them to the kids and burn them in his big grill!;)

My wife's oldest brother keeps everything. He entered the workforce in 1969, a year before he graduated from high school. He worked at a K-Mart in Houston. He still has the pay stubs from that job along with every job he's worked since, including his time in the army. He throws nothing away. He has boxes and boxes of old receipts, bills, pay stubs, tax records etc.. All in all, he has almost forty years worth.

The IRS will never, ever get the best of him in an audit, if that should ever occur!

I get these 12 section pleated portfolios with a flap and a built in elastic band. All the statements for a month go into a section. At the end of the year, it's not quite two inches thick. It's fast and easy. Downside, things are categorized but time, not statement. But it's all there in a tidy little bundle. And how often do you really go back, just having it in case you do is the important part.

Mortgage, insurance and tax stuff I file separately.

I get these 12 section pleated portfolios with a flap and a built in elastic band. All the statements for a month go into a section. At the end of the year, it's not quite two inches thick. It's fast and easy. Downside, things are categorized but time, not statement. But it's all there in a tidy little bundle. And how often do you really go back, just having it in case you do is the important part.

Mortgage, insurance and tax stuff I file separately.



That's a really good idea...I think from now on, I might start doing that. I had actually started doing something similar in a file cabinet, but I just started shoving them into this cabinet, forgot all about the filing cabinet, and filled this cabinet. Plus at the end of the year, I can shove my tax return stuff in the back, so all my financial statements plus tax stuff for that corresponding year is in one file.

Being a broke college student...it's so hard to deal with all this money and keep track of all the records!!! (yah right!!!) :)

Hey Everyone,


I kind of got on a cleaning spree here....I started cleaning out this one cabinet that's next to my computer desk....and found out that I have about half a trashbag full of old financial statements. Things like cell phone bills, credit card bills, dirt bike payments, bank statements, old paycheck stubs, etc...There's no house payments or anything like that in there. I know you're supposed to keep this stuff for awhile, but I don't feel like I really need to prove I paid my cell phone bill back in 2003.

Should I throw it all out? Or maybe from here on out keep it for a month or two and once it clears, toss it??? I'm not tossing out my tax stuff though. I'm only 23, so I've never really cleaned this little cabinet out before...I just kept stuffing them in there.

Thanks for the help/comments/suggestions. :)


I keep all bills, canceled checks, statements for 10yrs...I heard somewhere and don't know how true it is but since the IRS is auditing again if they find a error say from 5 yrs ago they can back up seven years from there and so on..:confused:

The magic 7 years, and I can be corrected, was driven by the IRS. If you have a revenue or expense doc that supports your tax return and the IRS audits you, then the IRS can ask for that doc up to 7 years back to validate/audit your return.

Hence, if you have your own business or made itemized tax related deductions, you better be able to support it with a document. Document is paper or electronic (e.g. utility bill, bank statement, etc. with correct logo, header, etc.)

There may be an exception, which is even worse. If you materially understate your tax return and don't have documentation, the IRS could go back further. I am not sure what "material" is these days. Example may be for people who have not been filing.

If you think 7 years is bad...If you are a doctor with a patient practice, you have to keep all docs (at least in CA) for 18 years.

My wife's oldest brother keeps everything. He entered the workforce in 1969, a year before he graduated from high school. He worked at a K-Mart in Houston. He still has the pay stubs from that job along with every job he's worked since, including his time in the army. He throws nothing away. He has boxes and boxes of old receipts, bills, pay stubs, tax records etc.. All in all, he has almost forty years worth.

The IRS will never, ever get the best of him in an audit, if that should ever occur!

When my grandma passed. They went through her dresser. Three of the six drawers were work related papers dating back to 1940! Every check stub she ever got from anywhere. Most places don't even exist anymore, not for decades!:)