How to know which records to keep and why

No, not these records, but . . .

Hope this is not your record keeping system - entirely too many! So, what do you keep?

WHAT ARE RECORDS? Sales slips, receipts of payments, brokerage statements, cancelled checks, and any form that verifies a number on your tax return.

HOW LONG DO I KEEP THEM? It varies. For a sales slip of a consumer item, as long as he guarantee lasts. For tax related items, the safest answer is 7 years. Keep closing statements on homes forever.

It is suggested that you keep your income tax returns for at least the previous 7 years. However, if you have the space, keep them for fun reading! Remember, you can get prior returns from IRS - for $

No need to keep utility bills or grocery receipts - you are not an archivist, or are you? Consider converting photos to digitized files.

But, if you have the space, keep it all, somewhere. You will make the archeologists of 5,000 years from now "happy campers."