Tell me about your filing system
 

Every New Year's Day, my wife and I go through our previous year's bills, receipts, etc and file them away (fun couple ain't we?). We seem to be getting more efficient at this as it only took as a half day this time and we're ready for tax time. I'm wondering though if there is a better system that can be used year 'round, sort of touch it once then file it away. Please tell me about your system.

I have a file cabinet with lots of folders.

After I pay a bill, it goes in the filing cabinet.

I only keep non-financial bills (water, gas, phone, cable, etc.) for a year.

I keep financial bills for 7 years. I review the files once a year and shred as needed. It's about an hour-long process.

Also, I always place new bills in the front of a file, so I only have to go so deep through the back of a file to get rid of stuff.

I also keep mortgage stuff and receipts for big purchases indefinitely.

Pretty much what I've always done. I started using the expanding file organizers* and marked each tab with the type of document to be stored (credit carsd, utilities, car loan/lease, medical, insurance etc). I'd keep one envelope and put the statement for each month into that one saved envelope...then into the pocket. The one envelope cuts down on quite a bit of bulk.

Now We've graduated to full sized file cabinets.


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We use the sedementary system.

All the bills go in a pile as they come in. If I need to find one, I search through the pile till I find it and put it back on top when I'm finished with it.

This way all the most recent ones and the needed ones stay near the top of the pile.

At the end of the year (when its about 9" high) I take all but the top inch and either file it or toss it out.

Tim

As far as bills are concerned, everything goes to a credit card if they accept and as far as bills (phone etc), these are stored electronically and backed up. Other paper items such as statements (bank or otherwise) are hole-punched and put in a binder by institution and all others filed in a filing cabinet by type of invoice. All my individual store receipts are stored in an envelope and shredded every three months or once price matching and returns are disqualified.

My filing system:

O

lol!

Big boxes and trash bags full-o-receipts and crap that I should really just compost seeing as I have pretty simple finances. I don't bother itemizing (not worth my time), don't have much in the way of investments and can't afford a house. I think I missed being able to use the "EZ" form last year except for one or two things I had to have 1099s for.

That's how I like stuff - simple and easy. Taxes generally take all of one afternoon. Piece of cake. I just can't throw away all the receipts and crap 'cause I'm anal and like to track my expenses and know where the money goes. . .

I use the Dewey Decimal system.