How long do u keep bank statements, and how to dispose of

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Mevater

Thu, Jan 21 2016, 1:04 pm

How long do you keep bank statements, and how do you dispose of them?

nywife

Thu, Jan 21 2016, 1:07 pm

Most, if not all bank statements are available online. I shred them as soon as they arrive because it just creates clutter and I can get the information online.

Amarante

Thu, Jan 21 2016, 1:11 pm

I don't even get bank statements as they are online. I don't keep any financial records unless there is a specific reason to do so after I verify - I.e. I keep the end of year tax statements since I need to compute taxes.

Even when I got bank statements, the cancelled checks are no longer returned as you just receive the xerox of the check on a piece of paper so there is nothing there I can't just as easily retrieve online in the unlikely event I ever needed to prove I had sent a payment or whatever.

But I shred any financial papers. I have a small shredder about the size of a waste basket which I keep under my desk.

Mevater

Thu, Jan 21 2016, 1:12 pm

nywife wrote:

Most, if not all bank statements are available online. I shred them as soon as they arrive because it just creates clutter and I can get the information online.

Online, you can only see bank records for a few months, anything older than that, you have to request it at the bank, and pay the bank for copies of old statements.

Last edited by Mevater on Thu, Jan 21 2016, 1:12 pm; edited 1 time in total

kiwi strawberry

Thu, Jan 21 2016, 1:12 pm

You can also sign up for paperless e-statements where you can view them online. Then they don't mail you a paper statement and you don't have to deal with filing it anymore.

Mevater

Thu, Jan 21 2016, 1:29 pm

kiwi strawberry wrote:

You can also sign up for paperless e-statements where you can view them online. Then they don't mail you a paper statement and you don't have to deal with filing it anymore.

And what happens when you want to look at a check from a year ago?

thunderstorm

Thu, Jan 21 2016, 1:29 pm

My DH once told me that all these records need to be kept for 10 years...so I would go with e-statements to make life easier.

MagentaYenta

Thu, Jan 21 2016, 1:51 pm

Mevater wrote:

And what happens when you want to look at a check from a year ago?

I bank at a credit union and get electronic statements. I can view my cancelled checks going back the five years they have provided this service.

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