It's that time of year again...

One of the things I've been doing to stay busy during this time of unemployment is to go through and discard old financial records (bills and receipts) from past years. Last week, I went through receipts I had from 2004. This week, I'm doing the same for 2005. Now is a good time to be doing this, as I collect my tax records for the previous year and prepare my annual tax return.

A few weeks ago, I asked on Facebook, "How many years of tax and/or financial records do I need to keep?" Most people answered "7 years, but keep tax forms forever." I've been trying to follow a 5-year rule with most of my stuff at home -- if I haven't looked at it or used it in the last 5 years, I no longer need it and can part with it. There are some exceptions -- high school yearbooks, my old Boy Scout stuff, etc. So I'll keep my financial records for the past 7 years. I won't go through 2006's records until next year.

I had been storing the records in cardboard #10 envelope boxes I obtained from local mailing services and print shops. A couple of years ago, the folks at Really Useful Boxes (US site) came out with a plastic #10 envelope box. I now have several of these boxes, which contain my financial records for the last several years, and will be reused for upcoming years as I get rid of the old records.

( So, here's what I've observed while looking through these old receipts. )