"The Life Changing Magic of Tidying" continues to magically change lives (PT 2)

[BeCool]

Come fold your loved clothes, and feel the spark of joy in every object you own (or thereabouts).

Continuing our journey on from the Original thread: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/good_housekeeping/2178442-The-Life-Changing-Magic-of-Tidying-Marie-Kondo?msgid=50091328#50091328

This is what Martin Lewis says.

blog.moneysavingexpert.com/2013/08/12/dont-throw-bank-statements-away-after-six-years/

Just - yay that's what I like to hear! I need some ebay success stories to keep me going, I have earmarked a few things to sell just need to actually DO it now!

Wedding dress , hasn't brought me joy since the day I wore it, but I will be sad to let it go all the same! Want someone else to have a special day in it though :)
3 or 4 pairs of shoes and maybe a handbag to ebay!
All the rest has gone/is going to charity, sorry Chazza you are getting all my supermarket and other cheap stuff :-/

tried to get rid of something of DHs that was in my drawer (a sweatband ffs!) and he said no I want to keep it, I said put it with your things then and he was like "no I like it in there"! Will be relocating that when he's not around to moan..

Marking place...have started reading the book after stumbling on last thread and siezing on it in desperation. Am only a short wsy in but have yet to see why it's any different from any other decluttering book...looking fwd to that moment!

Hmm, so martin Lewis basically says that we should keep paperwork forever, on the off chance we can reclaim something

I have just taken everything out of folders and put it in a big pile on the floor to chuck. Bank statements, student loan letters, pension statements and credit card bills from 2000 to 2007. What shall I do with it?

I covered paperwork in the last thread... (pay attention there at the back)...

For tax purposes if you ARE NOT self employed you only need keep (assuming your tax returns were sent in on time)...

You should keep your records for at least 22 months after the end of the tax year the tax return is for.

BUT you can keep them in any form you like - so scan them using camscanner app for phones/tablets and store them as a jpeg or pdf.

I got rid of all my bank statements last year! Now I get them online. I've only paid PPI once though and reclaimed that years ago now - so hopefully I'll survive.

martin lewis does not follow our beloved leader.

BeCool you do download them and store them yourself, yes? Because otherwise you'll end up having to pay for them to dig out stuff over a year often.

clapping for JimmyCorkhill for ending the last thread properly

Kew does the bank only keep them online for a year? I'll download them now

Lots of banks do - they vary. Check yours. I got caught out with it myself once which is embarassing as an accountant. I religiously download my business statements and my clients statements... my own not so much

whew - Barclays keep my statements online for 7 years, unless I close the account.

Oh... Just celebrating doing a big bag of paperwork this eve, and arrive on thread to controversy over the keeping of financial stuff... Well I am not going back in the bag now, so I think I'll just have to live without whatever I chucked. I have kept stuff that says 'keep me for tax purposes' even though I'm not self employed, and the income in question added up to ooh about £8 . Still, v hard to chuck a piece of paper that beseeches you not to...

online and easily accessible? I know the banks keep them for years but they aren't always available to download.

oif if in doubt scan it and rest your mind

kew they seem to be - all pdf's lined up neatly

Sorry Kew

So what about for non tax related purposes? I keep my bank statements in case someone claims that I didn't pay a bill and I need to prove that I did. Is this me being paranoid?

Pretty sure I've never bought PPI or similar because I'm too tight

I don't have a scanner! Maybe I should get one but I don't think that Marie would approve

I use the work scanner and shredder.

Hmm, I put stuff in the confidential waste but the scanner is closely guarded by our administrator and we have to beg ask her to scan stuff for us, so that won't work

OMG she monitors the scanner! That is kind of pathetic of her isn't it? What harm can scanning a personal document do to anyone? We have a scanner/photocopier/printer thing at work and I love it.

MsBug, I think scanner monitors are just that type of person. Ours tell us off for staples in the shredding pile, because despite my £20 Argos home shredder dealing quite happily with staples, they are just too much for the industrial high capacity one at work that cost £££s .

2 pages already?

Haven't been well - D&V and blacking out a couple of times. Still feeling weak so just resting for now.

Well done to everyone making such good progress.

MsBug - if you have a smart phone or tablet, download camscanner. Its not fast if you have lots to do but is good for new stuff coming in.

Well the non-tax stuff I plan to keep for the same amount of time as the tax stuff - on the basis that if its good enough for Mr Tax man then its good enough for everyone else. Cannot imagine anyone trying to claim you haven;t paid a bill with no follow up in between after more than two years.

And besides your bank would probably have your statements stored past that (they have to keep them for their own tax purposes for at least 7 years!) and so you could get from them if necessary.