Spring Cleaning Your Financial Records?
A Guide To What to Keep And What To Toss
According to a poll by Consumer Reports National Research Center, less than half of Americans believe they can find an important document at a moment’s notice and 16 percent reported losing money or incurring a charge because their financial records are not organized.
Being organized and up to date isn’t just a matter of not being messy. If your home were burglarized or suffered a flood or fire, would you have a copy of the insurance documents and proof of your home’s contents? If something were to happen to you, would your family know where to find your power of attorney or even your outstanding bills? If your new big screen TV or computer starts to act up, can you prove where and when you bought it and how much you paid or find store’s refund and repair policies?
Of course, if you keep and file every check, receipt and financial document, it will be just as hard to put your hands on something vital right away as if the records were in a jumbled heap. Here’s a guide to help you with your financial spring cleaning.
Toss it now
- Paycheck stubs and salary statements from 2009 and earlier after checking your W2’s and filing your taxes
- Expired warranties and owner’s manuals for items you no longer possess
- Bills for routine expenses such as electricity, phone or cable more than six months old
- Receipts for everyday items that are not needed to document tax deductions such as charitable gifts, to support warranties, or to submit as a reimbursable business expense to your employer
- Quarterly statements on investments and retirement accounts that have since been included in annual statements
- ATM receipts and deposit slips after you have reconciled them with your monthly statement
- Cancelled checks, credit card statements and bank account statements more than a year old except for those that may be needed to document tax deductions, child support or alimony payments, or prove ownership for warranties or insurance purposes
Keep Around Awhile Longer
- Federal income taxes may be audited for six years so keep any supporting documentation of deductions and income for seven years
- Receipts, warranties and instruction manuals for major appliances, electronics and furnishings you currently own
- Mortgage, vehicle and student loan documents until they are paid off
- Purchase receipts, titles, and registration information for vehicles as long as you own them
Hang on to
- Vital documents such as birth and death certificates, marriage licenses, divorce decrees, Social Security cards, and military discharge papers. Consider renting a safety deposit box to keep these in.
- Estate planning documents such as wills, trusts, powers of attorney and health care proxies. It is important someone else know where these are and have access to them in the event of your death.
- Insurance policies
- Pre-paid funeral expense receipts
- Pension plan and defined benefit plans from current and former employers
- Copies of all federal, state and city tax returns. Although you cannot be audited after a certain number of years, you may have to prove that you filed your taxes for any given year.
- Important contracts
- Receipts or cancelled notes of paid off debts and proof of any money owed to you
- Stocks, bonds and investment records and statements
