Papers that You Must Keep and the Amount of Time You Should Keep Them

Yes, it would be nice if we all could actually go paperless. You would think in the age of the computers we could. Yet, there are just some papers we need to keep for a certain about of time. These are important papers in which we need the actual hard copy; not just the duplicate. What are these papers and how long should we been storing them?

ATM Receipts

Why should we keep these you may ask? The bank doesn't make mistakes? Think again. Any person and any computer can make a mistake. This is your money we are talking about and you don't what the mistake to happen to you.

Just keep the receipts until you get your monthly statement. Once you see that everything is in order, then you can throw that month's receipts. Actually, you should shred them.

Bank Statements

You may want to keep these for a year. It will show that you actually paid certain bills and you may need these for taxes.

Credit Card Statements

It is recommended to keep these for a year. Be sure to compare these monthly and make sure everything is in order. If you keep these for a year, you can have proof that you paid certain items you may want to use as write offs during tax time. You should also ask for annual statements and keep these for 7 years, if you are using these for write offs on your taxes.

Loan And Mortgage Statements

These should also be kept a year or until you get an annual statement. Once you get one of these you can shred your monthly statements. You should keep your yearly statements until you pay the load or mortgage off entirely.

Medical Bills

You should keep these for a year or until paid. One reason you should keep these for a year, is that if you end of spending a certain amount you may be able to use these as a write off at the end of the year on your taxes. You won't know if you will be eligible for this deduction until you calculate your total costs for a year.

Tax Papers

The IRS recommends that you keep all your tax papers and proof of all your deductions for at least 7 years. You can scan the receipts, etc onto your computer. But you must have the original tax forms.

Yes, this may seem like a lot of papers that you must keep. However, if you store them in one centralized area, they won't actually seem like a lot. Plus, it is worth the time and effort it takes to store them, if and when you every need one of these items in the future.