Quick paperwork question

lynzpower

Ok, I have now sat down and am actually getting rid of some of my paperwork. Much of it was filed and not looked at, and im finally getting into looking at it and deciding do I need this?

This is where I need help - do I keep or chuck?

Old mobile phone bills from when I was with another network- do I need to keep these ( I have the last bill showing owing 0.00 which I will keep)

Letters from various DCAs about arrears to various bills which have all been settled, some from over 2 years ago?

Pobby

Can`t see a reason to hang on to all that.My problem is that I have masses of papers relating to a business I had.Got to hang on to them for 6 years.They really are in the way.Lynz have a good old throw out but do check everyone as my wife was sorting out and put our wedding photos in the bin liner for the dump.Luckily I found them----was she trying to tell me something?

iwbus

Personally I keep all my stuff, I've got util bills back to 2002 which I put in clear punched pockets and then in a lever arch file. Anal maybe but you never know....

One thing I do know is that, before I changed all my bills to monthly direct debit, several years worth of bills would give me a better idea of when bills would come in and how much they might typically be

beanielou

If the DCA have updated your credit files then chuck!
Hope you are ok?
Take care

tesuhoha

I would certainly throw out old mobile bills Lynz but make sure you shred them. If you havent got a shredder I would hang on to them for now until you can find a secure way of disposing of them. I watched a programme about identity theft quite recently and it was frightening to say the least. Love Tes.

QueenB.

Normally my OH tries to throw away all paperwork that is over two years old, i prefer keeping everything for at least three years, but if you have cleared certain bills then i would say just keep the paperwork showing they where payed in full and chuck the rest.

Sooler

Use a scanner on your PC and save the documents as TIF images or PDF files and save them to CD then shred the originals. Keep backup copies of the CD too.

You probably ought to keep tax vouchers, and most recent pay slip and utility bill are useful as you may need these if you open a bank account.

Tricky_Vicky

I have to confess to being a paper-hoarder too. I spent a few evenings last week trying to thin the pile and discovered some things that were so old there was no longer any point in filing them. :eek: However, I do have a load of old statements from a previous bank account and I was thinking of looking through them to see if I can reclaim any bank charges. (Maybe I'm too late as I have already changed to the A&L online account-thaks MSE:money: )

I think the general rule is to keep anything relating to taxes for 7 years.
Utilities - I think 5 quarters is enough. That way you always have the comparison quarter for the previous year.
Just writing this down has made me keen to weed mine out - the filing boxes weigh a ton:rotfl: :rotfl:
I agree with the shredding - but I find that the domestic shredders are hopeless - they only take 3 or 4 sheets of A4 at a time.

Anyone got any ideas to get rid of a lot of paper at one time securely?

Gal

Sooler wrote:

Use a scanner on your PC and save the documents as TIF images or PDF files and save them to CD then shred the originals. Keep backup copies of the CD too.

You probably ought to keep tax vouchers, and most recent pay slip and utility bill are useful as you may need these if you open a bank account.

Sounds like a good idea. - Utility bills do tend to be worth keeping as if you get problems with any electric meters then your records would go back further then your suppliers - Think they only keep accessible records for 3 years. Then there archived (Which means they will never be seen again) :rotfl: