In with the new, out with the old–so goes the saying for the New Year. It is also this time of the year when I keep the pack rat in me at bay (at least, I try to) and figure out what financial documents to retain and which things to feed to the shredder.
It’s not the most exciting item in my to-do list. I hate those paper cuts. Plus, I have a problem with letting go…weird as that may sound when we’re just talking about piles of paper!
So, I walked over to our accounting department and picked their brains. Here’s what I came up with:
- Keep your tax records for three years, at the minimum. This is required by the Bureau of Internal Revenue, but I personally recommend keeping all tax records since you started working.
- Credit card records should be kept for at least a year but keep the ones that record major purchases like appliances, along with receipts.
- Bank statements are good for a year, too. Records of deposits and bank transfers should always be crosschecked with statements and then shredded.
- Keep insurance records well, make duplicates and send copies to beneficiaries. Make sure your spouse knows where they are.
- Investment records like mutual fund statements, brokerage reports, and other documents should be kept in separate folders and well-labeled, just in case something happens to you and your spouse or other beneficiaries need to see them. This is a common problem especially among old retirees who have forgotten their investments and have not kept their records well.
- Loan documents should be well preserved, together with payment records. Needless to say, you’re better off keeping them forever.
- Do keep current warranties and throw away those that are no longer current. But I recommend keeping a directory of the contact numbers of repair shops.
- Shred all ATM receipts and other financial documents. You never know where they can end up if you just toss them in the trash. I don’t think the dumpster divers have crossed over from the US to the Philippines, but better safe than sorry.
January 16th, 2009 at 9:56 am
“I kept my insurance records, policies, ITR, SSS, NSO copies of birth certificate, passports with duplicate copies, one in the house and one in the office”
My spouse and kids know where they are located, neatly labeled and filed in one big envelope so that in case of emergency, it’s just one case to carry…
My credit cards are also neatly filed (2 years) also with duplicate copies…it was a great help when my bag was snatched, it was easy to cut off all my cards from the banks by phone so that the bad guys can’t use it.
January 15th, 2009 at 1:44 am
I’m a rubbish collector when it comes to receipts and other documents with pesos printed on them. I sometimes just dump them in one drawer or box and sort them during rainy days when it’s a task to go out. One time I did some sorting for two days and discovered I had gathered my pay slips from 10 years back. Katakot. Kala ko me sakit na ako. I burned them.
January 14th, 2009 at 6:10 pm
I recommend scanning them and saved as images. Organize them accordingly and make copies to any electronic media of your choice.
Then you’ll be comfortable with master shredder
January 14th, 2009 at 2:30 pm
My mom used to burn all our store’s o.r and other documents that have sensitive information on them. Di pa ata uso paper shredders that time.
January 14th, 2009 at 1:25 pm
shred, shred, shred!