Marie Kondo filing - what type of paperwork to keep/chuck?

[EmGee]

She says keep contracts, employment contracts, mortgage info but chuck bills etc.

What about bank statements, old tax returns, utility bills, pay slips, investment papers etc etc? I get some of mine online (bank statements and some utility bills) but still have files and files of current/past papers.....

How best to tackle this? I have tried to be organised and have all 2014/5 paperwork in a mobile filing case but previous years I have stored in a giant bag!!

Probably not much help but I have gone down the if in doubt scan it route and I am now almost paperless.

I would just start by scanning the most recent copy if everything and then shredding it along with older copies.

I think the question is: are you ever going to need it? The second question would be: how accessible do you need it to be?

I have a series of folders for things I might need to lay a hand to quite quickly: Mortgage & house, Employment & tax, Bank & finance, Bills, Car, Important Documents (birth cert, marriage cert, degree certs), Receipts.

Mortgage - I'd keep most things. I don't get much paperwork for mine, and it's such a large amount of money, I figure I want to keep track of it. I also keep all my receipts for work on the house in there e.g. guarantees of workmanship.

Employment and tax- A copy of my contract, payslips for the last year, tax documents for the last 3-4 years (you might need to hold onto them for longer if you are self-employed).

Bank and finance - the last year's bank statements, plus documentation for current investments. I get rid of information about older investments after they have been closed 6 months. I should add that this is because I am easily confused!!

Bills - I keep the last year's bills, but no more than that. They are useful if you need to prove identity etc. and you do need the customer number details etc. to contact the companies in the event of problems. The older ones get shredded.

Car - I keep a record of all MOTs and service history, because those things are useful, plus all documentation to do with buying the car in the first place.

Receipts - I keep receipts in a box for things I could return or claim for, i.e. anything in warranty, and for anything large that might be out of warranty but where I might still need to make a claim that it ought to have lasted longer. I clip them to the instruction booklets for each thing so I can find them both together. Everything else gets binned.

I also have a bunch of documentation in the loft. This is really there only as a backup. I used to get rid of bank statements and pay slips after 3 years, but an older colleague had to produce all of hers (which she had fortunately kept) to prove her pension contributions when someone screwed up administratively. And I do mean ALL of them! So we now keep all of these, filed by date. Only the last year's are in the house - the rest are in the loft and I transfer a pile over to the filing box up there once a year. It's a bit of a pain, but having seen what my colleague went through, I think it's worth it.

Yikes Shovel - I am loath to bin the payslips!!!! You never know....as your colleague's experience shows.

Thanks for the useful tips!

When I renewed the house insurance I asked them if I should keep receipts - for example, if the house burnt down would I need to prove what items of clothing I'd bought. They said to keep the receipts for major items (e.g computer) but that the rest was covered under the 'contents £30,000' or whatever. So now my receipts folder is a lot slimmer.

Keep 1 year of utility bills gas/electric can be online to prove usage yo get energy certificate if you move.
Last years P45 if employed and your wage slips until get next P 45,
If you are self employed need to keep relevant paperwork for 5 years though if IR suspect anything can ask for 12 years
Usually to have 2 different bills with name and address for identity proof ( some will not accept printed from internet copies)
Keep original contracts for any loan PPI, mortgage etc
Receipts until out of guarantee
Original share certificates, is a etc
No need to keep telephone bills except 1 as I'd or bank statements unless for business account and so long as available online no need to keep paper copies even then
I am self employed so keep all paperwork my accountant says keep 12 years minimum as it costs too much to try and get everything again

shovelwould it not be better to scan / keep these things paperless though ? In case of a fire/leak/mice all of which would destroy those things that are kept in a loft .

Some good tips above. Regards tax paperwork HMRC can ask you about previous 6 years returns ( and as many years as they wish if they think you have withheld information) so I recommend you keep the documents that support your tax returns filed by year for the 6 years. As it's just easier to deal with if they had a query rather than running around trying to get copy documents as they prefer originals.
Every February I shred the relevant tax year in my archive once the Jan 31st reporting deadline has passed (having done my tax returns in good time the previous Sept/Oct) So just about to shred 2008/2009 tax info and I just keep P60 Annual Return and a pdf of the actual tax return fro when I submitted it online.

Milly - I did once go completely paperless. I spent ages scanning things into my computer. Which then broke, losing everything. This was in the days before wifi networks at home to store things. I've never been bothered to do it all again, though with the cloud now it would be a lot safer. I do store bills electronically if they come electronically, but I still clip things into folders if they come through the door because it is quicker for me! (/lazy)

As for the bank statements, DH has some strange kind of 'thing' about having a copy of his entire financial history. I have no idea who he thinks this will interest, but frankly it is easier just to dump them in the loft than to argue .

For some reason, I am wondering about keeping details of mortgages of houses we used to live in. No need, right?