Filing Strategy: "Shred - May 2007"

[taxgeek]

I think somebody here may have described this strategy or triggered the idea, but thought I'd just say Thanks to whoever and reiterate the idea, it's working great for me.

You know all those documents you don't ever really need to reference but you have to keep them around because (a) you feel stupid throwing out something like a bank statement or credit card bill and (b) you might actually need them for awhile.

So I started making up folders each month or couple months, and carrying them around in my briefcase, and they just say "Shred" and the date a year from now. So as soon as the stupid statement comes I just throw it in there and don't ever have to sort it out as regular filing again by company or whatever. And stuff is pretty easy to go back and find because you just go forward a year.

Hope somebody else can use this, it's working great for me. I never used to do my filing because I hated separating the credit card statements from the financial statements from the bank statements etc.

[ReBuild]

Good idea.

I use a variation on this technique. My records (financial /utility bills etc) do get filed, at the end of the financial year I bundle them with my tax return. This "group of files" is placed within a storage box and dated 7 years in the future for destruction.

Works for me and allows me to get hold of old statements etc.