Tuesday’s Tip Jar

It never ceases to amaze me the amount of garbage that people will hold onto thinking that they need it “just in case”. Especially financial information. I’ve known some people who have years and years of bank statements put in binders and kept in their closet – same thing with credit card statements. It is just insane! You don’t need to hold on to all of that.

Here is a brief list of what you actually do need:

Taxes

You need to keep 7 years of your taxes. Just 7. SEVEN! No more, no less! Take the most recent 7 years and file them. Each year you do your taxes get rid of the oldest year. You only need SEVEN.

Bank Statements

You only need to hold onto 3 months worth of these making sure that you keep every page in the statement. You do not need a year’s worth or your entire life’s worth. You only need THREE months! That is all a loan officer will ever ask for and that is all you are ever required to provide even if some know nothing goober asks you for more. You only need THREE.

Credit Card Statements

Only hang onto the previous month’s statement. You do not need to keep every statement you ever receive. When you get your new bill simply write the check number, date, and what you paid on the statement and file it – throw away the old one. You only need one.

Bills (Phone, Gas, Electric, etc…)

This is the same as credit card statements – you only need the previous month’s statement. That means just one. This also goes for insurance bills, car payment bills, other loans, etc…

Credit Reports

You only need to hold onto your credit reports for the current year. You need to make sure you get it from each of the three big agencies and you can do this for FREE once a year at www.annualcreditreport.com. Check it for errors. If you find no errors just file it away. If you see errors contact the agencies to have them correct it and when you get your corrected report throw away the old one and keep the current one. Do this once a year!

*Make sure that when you get rid of old statements that you shred them. Never just throw away financial documents in whole – that leaves you open to identity theft.

And there you have it – my short and simple way to de-clutter your bills and get rid of the paper. I guarantee you that you don’t need all that excess and if you are storing it you are wasting time, space, and your sanity.

Now it’s your turn – drop a tip in the jar!

*Please leave your tip link in the comments – By the way, does anyone have any idea what is going on with Mr Linky?