Paperwork Purging

I like paperwork for 2 reasons:

1. It gives me something to organize

2. It give me ammunition when there are discrepancies

I spent this past weekend organizing and purging documents, it felt so great. I shredded so much I actually broke my shredder!! 🙂 I have my own time frame of how long and what information I keep. There is a balance between keeping too much paperwork and purging too much. Here are my rules of thumb for keeping documents:

Taxes – I keep every year of my taxes – the government recommends you keep 7 years from the dale of filing

Pay stubs – I keep one full year – the government recommends pay stubs can be purged after reconciled with the w-2

Utility bills – I keep three months, there is really no need to keep these records especially if you have online records

Contracts/Warranties – keep as long as the contract or warranty is active. (If there was something that happened during the contract, like a claim I will keep a copy of the contract and claim, in case there are discrepancies in the future)

Investments – Currently I keep all the paperwork but I am sure after we have invested for many years I will purge certain documents – the government recommends to keep annual statements, purge monthly statements and keep certificates until it is cashed or sold

Insurance – I keep all policy documents and any pertinent email correspondence with the agent, I keep statements until the next policy term – the government recommends purging after you renew

Life Insurance – Forever

Debts – I saved this one for last because I have many notes on this subject

~ When making payments over the phone write down the person’s name as well as the time and date that you made a payment or inquired about something important on the accounts (This comes in EXTREMELY handy if there is a discrepancy)

~When making online payments print the proof of payment page and staple it to the pay stub or statement

~I save all the pay stubs and letters until the debt is paid off. Once the debt is paid off I purge all of the pay stubs and keep the pay off letter and any other pertinent information on the account. The reason I keep this information is for future proof if there is a discrepancy

My filing cabinet is colored coordinated and labeled nicely!

Paperwork can be very overwhelming and it is a massive task to take on and get under control. If you have a filing cabinet that you keep your records in, I recommend that you have a smaller filing system at your “drop station” wherever you keep your mail, drop your keys, etc. Put together a small filing system that you can file quickly and easily so when you have more time you can later file them into the file cabinet. This relieves the paper pileup and keep everything organized and orderly.

If you do not have a drop station, you can create a family binder that organizes all of your family information and paperwork can be filed in the binder until it is later filed in the permanent location.

HAPPY ORGANIZING!!!!!

** Check out other recommendations for managing records – http://www.usa.gov/Topics/Money/Personal-Finance/Managing-Household-Records.shtml