How do you store your receipts . . . ?

financequest

I use an A4 folder. Inside I use clear plastic A4 envelopes Inserts labelled 2011Oct,2011Nov,2011Dec,2012Jan,2012Feb etc. I store receipts in the envelope for the relevant month. Receipt date, cost, purchase description, vendor and any warranty information is entered into a simple spreadsheet. Locating details quickly and easily requires a simple search of the spreadsheet. Hope this helps.

McAzrael

I have a plastic tray in the drawer under my TV. Receipts get shoved in there, always on the right, When it gets full I grab an inch or so out of the left hand side and lob them in the shredder.

There are some mighty organised people on here with files and dividers and dated envelopes. I have to ask, have any of you ever yet had to dig a receipt out years later and been glad you went to all the trouble? I find my way a bit of a chore.

27col

As treasurer of my bowls club I store all the receipts stapled together in monthly date order until the annual audit. Then they are stored in an envelope file for several years until eventual disposal. The reason for stapling is because of the huge variety of sizes, ranging from some the size of a couple of postage stamps to some as big as A4 size.
Our domestic receipts are just kept in labelled suspension files, and weeded every year or so.

libra10

I have a box concertina file, labelled alphabetically. Receipts go in there filed under the relevant letter. I clear these annually, keeping bills for larger items longer, and destroying bills for smaller items.

Bank statements I keep upstairs in small zipped plastic envelopes(bought from Wilkinsons), each bank account kept separately in relevant envelope. I keep these statements for several years.

ormus

we use a few box files with dividers. marked bank/insurance/gas/phone etc...
give em a clear out every few yrs or so.

the larger consumer goods (expensive/appliances) have the receipt taped to the back of the item.
all manuals are kept in one folder in a kitchen drawer.

Stephen_Leak

My system has to be simple and, living in a flat, compact.

Pay & pension slips, bills, credit card, bank & savings accounts statements are in two box files - one for current open ones, one for old closed ones. I keep 6 calendar years, plus the current one. Next January, those dated 2006 will get shredded.

Receipts for things with long guarantees are always scanned, as they are usually thermal printed and fade over time. The originals are kept with the user manuals in a folder.

All the car documents - receipts & MOT certificates, insurance, Auto Aid, vehicle registration & driving licence - are in a separate folder. It's easier to take to the garage at MOT time and the local Post Office (use it or lose it) for the VED.

billywhizz

I scan everything that comes through the door, then shred it. I can't see the point in keeping anything, the only receipts I keep are for household goods etc where I would need the original and those are stored in a plastic wallet by year (Also Xmas gift receipts for family, birthdays etc). On the two occasions that I have needed to take something back after 10-12 months both receipts had faded so badly I needed the scanned copy anyway. I bin everything now, bank statements, payslips, tax documents, bills, all is scanned and I've never needed to refer back to anything original. The only original paperwork I keep is Reg Docs for cars, MOT's and Insurance Certificates.

Eenymeeny

Good question! I wonder at the wisdom of filing everything. Do have a bonfire every January though :0 I keep things like payslips, tax, pensions, mortgage stuff for longer. I once had to prove that I'd made the final payment on something when I found it listed as unpaid on my Expedia account! I'm not so fussy about the filing as I was though, as long as they are in the right folder that'll do for me. (Used to put them in date order too)

bobthedambuilder

I Bulldog clip together receipts for each account, all placed in a box. When I get each monthly statement, I check the receipts off against the items, then staple them together and put into a bigger Bulldog clip in another (checked) box to hold for a year. Then I burn them.

The_Salad

Thanks for all the tips . . . based on all the replies (and some research of my own) I have decided to purchase one of these to keep my receipts nice and tidy.