Financial Documents To Keep During Your Fall Clean-out

American Investment Planners LLC

500 North Broadway, Suite 260, Jericho, NY 11753

(516) 932-5130 / (866) 932-5130

It may not be spring - in fact, it's quite the opposite - but that doesn't mean that you can't do a little "spring cleaning" in the fall. Whether you're cleaning things out to give yourself a fresh start for the end of the year or tidying up your home to prepare for the holidays, one task you may come across is figuring out what to do with all of those financial documents you've let build up for so long. But which ones are okay to toss? Below, we've put together a checklist of items you definitely want to keep:

1. Outstanding bills: This one's obvious - any outstanding bills you have yet to pay must be kept. Even if you have digital copies of your statements online, it's worth holding onto a physical copy for your records.
2. Paid bills: Just because a bill has been paid doesn't mean it can go right in the trash (unless it's a bill you've paid years ago). Although these may only be needed in the short term, hang on to the statement itself and make note of how you paid it (whether by cash, check or electronically) in case you need to reference it in a few months.
3. Recent bank statements: Rule of thumb is that you should file away all bank statements from the past seven years. If you find any that are older than that you are likely safe in throwing them away, but any within this time period should be kept.
4. Major receipts: Have you completed a large-scale home improvement project recently? If you've made any changes to your home, you'll want to keep a record of it practically forever - unless you sell the home, of course. If you are unsure if your project or other major purchase qualifies, tuck it away neatly with your files just to be sure.
5. Paychecks: While the money may have already been spent, paychecks are another set of documents that should be kept for at least seven years. One reason in particular? These documents can certainly help when it comes time to do your taxes! 

Aside from these documents, do you have others that are still pending? If you're unsure about which documents should be kept and which are okay to part with, just ask American Investment Planners LLC for advice! We can send you a detailed guideline of which documents should be kept and for what length of time when you contact us here (just make sure to reference the guideline check list in the subject of your message!).

In addition, don't forget that you can also contact us for help with any financial planning need - from retirement planning to estate planning, tax planning investment management and more, we do it all! To speak with a member of our team, please call (516) 932-5130 today.

Above information courtesy of MFS Heritage Planning.