How long do you keep all your bank statements/credit card bills/gas bills/pay slips etc etc for? I'm drowning in paperwork here.

[CaptainKarvol]

Anyone know how long you should keep household paperwork for? I've just emerged from under a heap of paper as big as the entire desk, and there's more somewhere...

What do you think? File it or burn the lot?

Between use we have
credit cards *4
store cards *2
individual bank accounts *2
joint bank account
child benefit *2
child trust fund *2
water, electric, gas and phone bills
leasehold fees
savings accounts ( 1 adults and 2 kids)
ISAs *2
pensions *2
mortgage *1
cars 2 and motorbike 1 with assorted documents
buildings and contents insurance
dental insurance
and our professional registrations to keep up to date
as well as stuff like passports, birth and marriage certs.

I've got stuff going back about 4 years and I need more space than the folders, boxes and single filing draw I have to keep it in some kind of order.

What do you all do?

Does everyone have a filing cabinet in their house, or do you just keep the last statement for everything?

Why do I need to keep it anyway? (I have hazy memories of being asked for a lot of stuff when we applied for a mortgage). We're both PAYE, so no tax issues.

HELP! I'm drowning in this stuff!

[booyhoo]

im not giving you advice, its a warning!!

im convinced that at one point a terible crime will happen and csi will want all my financial documents to trace where ive been for all of my life so i still have every document since i opened my first bank account at 16!!! im 23 next month. girl in bank laughs at me and says 6 months and then bin it but i just cant do it. it feels wrong.

[Overmydeadbody]

change over to paperless billing for everything that has this option for a start.

Then keep household bills like utilities for 1 yr and bank stuff for two years max.

I'd chuck the stuff from four years back. Seriously, what's the point off keeping all that paper?

[CaptainKarvol]

at both answers, and thanks!

booyhoo I used to be just like you but, omdb 'what's the point of keeping all that paper' - that's exactly what I'm wondering.

Do I need this stuff? Or am I just being a bit odd keeping it all 'just in case' In case of what???

[booyhoo]

in case the police need it to see where you where on saturday 4 years ago!!!

[Overmydeadbody]

would a peice of paper really prove to the police where you where on saturday 4 yrs ago though?

[booyhoo]

twas a joke OVER, but in answer to your question, quite possibly.

[faraday]

If you can't bear to chuck it, ruthlessly analyse it- DO you need 5 year old insurance documents? Then scan the rest, then bin!

[Sidge]

I would warn you to keep tax-related stuff indefinitely.

I got landed with a tax bill 4 years after leaving the military because the IR cocked up, and they wanted the last 5 years of tax paperwork. It then took another 18 months to sort out and they wanted all payslips, P60s etc.

Otherwise I have a filing cabinet and keep most things for about a year. For eg as I renew my car/house insurance I ditch the last lot of paperwork. But I do keep most accounts paperless and only print them if I really need to.

[Elk]

Anything related to tax I keep for 8 years as the inland revenue can go back seven years when requesting payment. I feel it is better to be safe than sorry.
Insurance docs - keep previous years quote for reference and comparison purposes.
Store cards I have a file and they get thrown after a year.
Council Tax, water etc I keep for a couple of years then shred (good for compost)

They all have their own files.