What documents do you need to keep? (1 Viewer)

[Otis]

Over the years I’ve accumulated all sorts of nonsense documentation. Statements, taxes, warranties, receipts for home work, etc. Yesterday I went through and started throwing out stuff. But it’s hard to know where to draw the line. What do you throw out and what is something you need to keep?

Some examples:

- I had the closing and mortgage documents from our prior home, like a decade ago. Can’t see why we’d need that. 
- Kept those documents for our current home. 
- Taxes?  I kept hard copies of stuff going back a bit; but just whatever was filed and final along with supporting documents. 
- life insurance?  Who needs all those statements?  Even the “policy” itself?  It’s all electronic these days and Mrs O can just go to the insurance company and collect when I go. It’s not like they’re doing to deny her for not having a piece of paper?

- auto insurance policy and statements. Trash all right?

- mortgage statements?

- property tax statements?

- warranty and receipt documents for appliances?

Etc  

In the end I kept some stuff, but now it’s a single stack and not an entire huge drawer full.  And I’m not even sure I need the stuff I kept.  Curious to know what others keep, and why. Because in the end I’m pretty sure I don’t need any of it. 

 

[Dan Lambskin]

That reminds me I have a older filing cabinet I should go through

Here’s what I usually end up keeping whenever I do a purge.  No idea if it’s right or wrong

1. Mortgage stuff

2. tax stuff

3. home repair / warranty stuff 

4. Auto lease / car payoff documents 

im sure there’s some other minor stuff I hang into for whatever reason (pets, kids school stuff, etc) but just about everything else seems to have an online record so I end up shredding it or burning it in my fire pit 

 

[AAABatteries]

Good thread - I don’t have a great answer for you. Maybe even broaden it a little for eDocument and file storage options, best practices?  I spent a few hours recently doing file cleanup and realized I have files and photos and videos everywhere - iCloud, OneDrive, Amazon.  They’ve made it so cheap I just pay for extra storage - but it’s made things a freaking mess.

 

[Cold Dead Hands]

My wife keeps everything from receipts (including grocery) to owners manuals (including #### we haven’t owned in 20 years) to bills/statements, etc. I feel like I live in a paper company warehouse sometimes.

 

[ChainsawU]

auto insurance policy

Just keep the most recent hard copy in your glove box for your friend. For income tax returns I keep five years' worth - every year I add one to the pile I call "keepers" and then shred the oldest, six-year-old return + evidence. That five year threshold is what I've always been told to keep; remember hearing that ever since I was a kid.

 

[ChainsawU]

Were you just in a "cleaning out mood" yesterday or are you gonna parlay it into something else.

 

[Grace Under Pressure]

My wife keeps everything from receipts (including grocery) to owners manuals (including #### we haven’t owned in 20 years) to bills/statements, etc. I feel like I live in a paper company warehouse sometimes.

Can’t pry it from her Cold Dead Hands? 

 

[Brony]

Murmur and Life's Rich Pageant are where it's at. 

 

[D-Day]

I have been slowly purging documents that my wife had been keeping.  She had kept her temporary driver's permit from the 1970's, grade cards from college, project notes from companies she no longer works for (going back to the '90s), text books and study guides and a bunch of other out of date, useless stuff.

I am also purging tax records that are over 7 years.  I may move that to 5 years soon.  It is my understanding that in case of an IRS audit, if I have the records going back X number of years, that they can be used.  Why keep something around that is most likely used only to hurt you?

My problem is I am still using a mix of paper and digital.  I also need to stop getting receipts for things that there is no way I will return, like gas or food.  

 

[D-Day]

- life insurance?  Who needs all those statements?  Even the “policy” itself?  It’s all electronic these days and Mrs O can just go to the insurance company and collect when I go. It’s not like they’re doing to deny her for not having a piece of paper?

Correct on the life policies.  It is important though that you have a listing of companies, policy numbers and contact information for your policies.  

Get rid of the old life policies that are no longer enforced.  Don't make someone call on all those policies just to find out that they cancelled 10-20 years ago.

 

[Galileo]

From the IRS site...

“The law requires you to keep all records you used to prepare your tax return – for at least three years from the date the tax return was filed.”

and...

”Generally, the IRS can include returns filed within the last three years in an audit. If we identify a substantial error, we may add additional years. We usually don’t go back more than the last six years.”

 

[-OZ-]

I don't even get much of my tax return documents in hard copy, just keep them electronically. 

Start with the stuff you know you need, hard copy:

Will / AMDs

Birth certificates

Passports

SS cards

Marriage license

POAs

Seems most other stuff can be stored electronically..

 

[Otis]

That reminds me I have a older filing cabinet I should go through

Here’s what I usually end up keeping whenever I do a purge.  No idea if it’s right or wrong

1. Mortgage stuff

2. tax stuff

3. home repair / warranty stuff 

4. Auto lease / car payoff documents 

im sure there’s some other minor stuff I hang into for whatever reason (pets, kids school stuff, etc) but just about everything else seems to have an online record so I end up shredding it or burning it in my fire pit 

That’s a lot of stuff if you save it all. And how many years going back?  And why??  Is it all necessary?

 

[Otis]

My wife keeps everything from receipts (including grocery) to owners manuals (including #### we haven’t owned in 20 years) to bills/statements, etc. I feel like I live in a paper company warehouse sometimes.

That would destroy my OCD. Sounds like hoarders. 

 

[Otis]

Were you just in a "cleaning out mood" yesterday or are you gonna parlay it into something else.

We had to clean out the built in cabinets around the fireplace because we’re having it painted. As I went through the drawer of random saved papers, it occurred to me I’m unlikely to ever really need 90% of it. 

 

[Otis]

I don't even get much of my tax return documents in hard copy, just keep them electronically. 

Start with the stuff you know you need, hard copy:

Will / AMDs

Birth certificates

Passports

SS cards

Marriage license

POAs

Seems most other stuff can be stored electronically..

Good point. This stuff we keep in a safe. It’s a very limited set of docs. 

 

[D-Day]

- warranty and receipt documents for appliances?

I'm starting to duct tape these to the appliances or items themselves.  I bought a chair a couple of years ago with a square trade warranty.  Taped it to the bottom of the chair, and when the fabric tore, I pulled the paperwork off the chair, turned in the claim, and got the check.  No need to go searching the files or computer for the paperwork.  And when it comes time to replace, the paperwork goes out the door with the item.

 

[Osaurus]

Murmur and Life's Rich Pageant are where it's at. 

No love for Chronic Town, Fables of the Reconstruction, or Reckoning? 

 

[belljr]

I keep all auto repair documents.  No one ever asked for them but if I selling private I would say I have them.

I forget why but I needed my last 2 years of registration for something.

I have a huge filing cabinet I need to purge.

I have any home repair receipt also I also keep medical bills for a long time 

The other stuff is online now so I don't even keep the 3 months I used too

 

[D-Day]

I have any home repair receipt also I also keep medical bills for a long time 

I do also, because some of those items go into the cost basis of the home for tax purposes at time of sale.  For most people, this won't come into effect, but for the Chet's and Otis' of the world, it could.

 

[Zegras11]

My wife has bins marked with each year that go back to 2005 in the garage.  When I told her about the three-year IRS rule a few weeks ago, she did not believe me. 

 

[shuke]

Need to do another purge soon.  For some reason I feel like I need to keep medical receipts going back forever, in cases we ever need to look back at medical history for some reason.  

 

[Otis]

Need to do another purge soon.  For some reason I feel like I need to keep medical receipts going back forever, in cases we ever need to look back at medical history for some reason.  

I guess in case you need a refund??

Thats an easy toss for me. 

 

[RUSF18]

All I keep are the important life-related documents that are mentioned. Plus a couple pages of notes with banking/investment/insurance account information in a safe in case my wife ever needs them. Tax information is saved electronically. 

Beyond that, I’d rather eat the $200 item that I can’t replace without the warranty information if it means not having so much other crap cluttering things up. 

 

[notoriousbill]

I just paid my house off and still have all of the mortgage docs from when I bought the house and all refi docs.  Are these really needed to be saved?  

 

[urbanhack]

• all statements are paperless
  
• i have last two mortgage closes / refis
  
• i have tax forms from last 5 years
  
• random insurance and investment statements 
  

 

[Pipes]

https://www.creators.com/read/everyday-cheapskate/06/18/the-case-for-keeping-tax-returns-forever

I''d be leery of tossing tax returns.  They don't take up a ton of space and there is a chance, albeit probably very small, you may need them in the future.