What Financial Documents to Keep and to Throw Away

Certain financial documents you can hold on to, “but you can let go of a lot of documents. And doing so will free you of all that paper and, perhaps, worry,” said Michelle Singletary at The Washington Post. Once you get your W-2 you can throw away the paycheck stubs, except the final stub that has a year’s worth of information. For prescriptions you can keep “for at least a year in case there is a dispute about payment.” You can shred the monthly bank statements as banks provide end-of-year information annually. You can also toss out utility bills unless you need them for tax deductions. For tax returns, keep the past seven years in case there’s an audit from IRS. “Finally, if you are unsure of what to keep, scan it.” (washingtonpost.com)