Receipt organising and storage

Debbie_S

How do you organise and store your receipts? Mine are currently put in a carrier bag and shoved in the loft. I have 10 years worth now. I don't know what I should keep and I need a system. Any suggestions?

maninthestreet

10 year old receipts? Buy a shredder and shred away!

lilac_lady

I keep a folder with receipts in for every month. I've just purged January 2007's one. Next month I'll get rid of receipts for February 2007, keeping any one that's over £100.

MushyPeas

I use envelopes for each month. Then on a yearly basis I shred any that aren't important (food shopping etc.) and file everything else in a large envelope

Would be interested to read other people's methods!

Rupa

I keep all receipts until they have appeared on my statement. Then I shread the non-important ones eg food etc and keep the others. They might be for shoes, clothes, electrical stuff etc. But on the top of these important receipts I write what the item is to make it easier to see instantly why I have kept the receipt. Sometimes you have a receipt with 20 things on it but only one is important. The receipts I have just received that are too recent to be on my statement I put aside for next month, highlighting the date and total to make it easier for next month.





Well, theoretically that is. In reality it gets done twice a year!

wishiwasarichgirl

I only keep receipts for expensive/electrical stuff, generally stuffed in a folder with all the instruction manuals/guarantees.

clothing receipts i keep shoved behind some clutter on a kitchen shelf for a couple of weeks, just incase I want to return something.

all other receipts go straight in the shredder or bin depending if there are any card details on them.

Why would you want to keep grocery receipts for a year? my house would be a fire hazard if I did that!

nearlyrich

I have a plastic envelope in the car for work related receipts, I bring it in and do a claim on my expenses about once a month then send the relevant receipts off to the company. I have an envelope in my filing cabinet top drawer for receipts for electrical stuff etc which I put the date I start using it and the date it gets full, then I file it in a less accessible drawer till I get the urge to purge and shred LOL. I track my CC online so Tesco receipts etc go in the shredder once they appear on my account.

Stephen_Leak

I use those cash bags, which you can scrounge from banks.

Firstly, as I now buy pretty well everything on cashback credit cards, I keep them in a bag for each card until the statement arrives and are checked off.

For short-term things, like food shopping & petrol, I don't keep any receipts. For longer-term things like clothing & shoes, I keep the receipts in another cash bag.

For really long-term things, with manufacturers' guarantees lasting for many years (ie. my Thermos flasks (5 years), car fire extinguisher (6 years) and Pyrex ware (10 years)), I also scan the receipts. If they are printed on heat-sensitive paper, they fade after a year or so.

Debbie_S

Corr! I have got some shredding to do. Thanks everyone.

beedeedee

I found one of those vertical small steel spikes in a stationers for about £2. It's brill for spiking receipts on and so satisfying to do! They're all in chronological order as well..
Every six months or so, when I can't spike any more on, I shove 'em in a large labelled and dated, envelope.