Keeping track of documents in your household is not always an easy task, particularly when you are trying to do spring cleaning and get rid of the clutter. In this three-part series, we break down documents that you should keep for one year or less, at least seven years and indefinitely.

In this blog we’ll be looking at those documents you can keep for a year or less.

Some documents only need to be retained for 90 days before throwing them away. These include credit card receipts, utility bills, ATM receipts and everyday purchases. Unless you have specific issue such as an argument with your credit card company, there is no need to keep these longer than three months.

Some information, however, should be stored on hand for up to one year in case something happens to you and you become incapacitated or in the event of a problem.

These include undisputed medical bills, checkbook ledgers, insurance records and statements, investment account statements, monthly mortgage statements, and paycheck stubs. Keeping these for longer than a year is often not necessary.

You may even wish to store these electronically to decrease the chances of them getting lost, but you need to be aware of privacy and security concerns that may expose you to a higher risk of identity theft. In the next blog in this series, we’ll look at planning and receipt documents that should be held on to for at least seven years.

Comments are closed.