Documents to keep 29 September 2021 at 10:14PM in Credit file & ratings 5 replies 207 views

soupy600

Hey everyone ,

Not sure where to post this so sorry of its in the wrong place.

just going throught and sorting all my paperwork and just wondering what do I really need to keep and what do I bin? Especially with most things going paperless?  For EXAMPLE

Bank statements(current rolling year)

Credit card statements(currentl rolling year)

Pass bank or credit card (keep at least one thing for reference?)

Pay slips (bin and keep p60's) 

Pension info  

Car/house/pet insurance (current year)

Current house

I've currently got everything kept lol

But gas/elec (current rolling year)

Media (current deal only?)

Moved house a year ago so do I keep

Rent/ Gas/elec statements or just one or 2 for reference 

bargainbetty

I go with the business rule of keeping six years of all financial records, payslips and P60s. Everything over 12 months I keep digitally, but it has come in handy in the past when I had a query about NI contributions. 

For utilities and contracts I keep the rolling year and any written confirmations or termination. Again, just in case and digitally is fine. 

soupy600

Sounds good, but is 6 years a bit long to keep all your pay slips etc? At the start of that i probably would have still being paid weekly

RG2015

soupy600 said:

Sounds good, but is 6 years a bit long to keep all your pay slips etc? At the start of that i probably would have still being paid weekly

Just Googled it and got this. I keep all of my financial documents for at least six years just in case. They do not take up too much space and some were helpful for my solicitor when moving house.

https://www.fool.co.uk/mywallethero/your-money/learn/how-long-should-i-keep-payslips/

RG2015

Also found these. I just love Google.

https://blog.moneysavingexpert.com/2013/08/dont-throw-bank-statements-away-after-six-years/

https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/uk/consumer-advice/a26071481/how-long-to-keep-documents-paperwork/

kaMelo

To avoid a long story, a former work colleague who bought his parents home using their right to buy discount almost lost his home twenty years later when his mother needed nursing home care at the end of her life. Only by proving he was the only one ever to pay for the home and his mother was joint owner in name only (to qualify for the RTB discount) with detailed records, mortgage and bank statements etc. going back nearly twenty years did the local authority accept responsibility to pay for his mothers care.

With that in mind I keep everything indefinitely as it's never been easier to archive documents. They take up very little space and it's easy to do, why would you not do it. Keep the original paper copies for a period of time as you see fit, then scan and store digitally. They becomes part of your regular backup routine, keeping at least one off site copy of everything. 

The chances are you will never need any of them but there is always that 0.01% chance that you will.