Keeping Receipts and Receipt Storage

[Kabocha Boy]

So my SAHW-soon-to-be-SAHM is going through a clean-up crisis. The problem is we've retained receipts for a very long time. The intent was to eventually start entering them to accurately track our spending, like we did while we were overseas (where we spent much less, generally speaking), but it seems likely that may not happen.

Now, however, we're looking at piles and piles of receipt in wide-ranging and disparate locations. As we sort through them, we're trying to come up with policy for what receipts to keep and what receipts to throw away (do we really need all our gas receipts?), as well as process for keeping them categorized and organized as we get them.

What receipts do you keep? How do you organize, and more importantly, how do you keep them organized?

[beks37]

I have had my system of receipt storage for years and it works great for me. I have 12 envelopes, 1 for each month. I keep the current month envelope in my desk drawer to be handy, the rest are in my filing cabinet. When I have entered the receipt in my checkbook register, I put it in the envelope. When I am moving on to the next month, I put away that envelope in my filing cabinet and pick up the next month's envelope. I take the receipts in that envelope (now a year old) and go through them, ones that are for groceries, gas, etc are shredded. Ones that are for pricier items (mattress, TV, etc) I keep in a separate file until I don't need them anymore. Sometimes it's neat to see what I bought last year at this time.

[QM]

So my SAHW-soon-to-be-SAHM is going through a clean-up crisis. The problem is we've retained receipts for a very long time...Now, however, we're looking at piles and piles of receipt in wide-ranging and disparate locations. As we sort through them, we're trying to come up with policy for what receipts to keep and what receipts to throw away (do we really need all our gas receipts?), as well as process for keeping them categorized and organized as we get them.

What receipts do you keep? How do you organize, and more importantly, how do you keep them organized?

This, too, is a problem for me. It's one of my "to do list" things that I just keep procrastinating on. It seems when I start sorting through the papers I just go in circles. Thanks for starting this thread. I look forward to seeing everyone's responses.

[Palooka]

I don't even keep receipts unless they are super duper important. If they are they find a special place in the filing cabinet. After a certain amount of time passes, they end up getting tossed.

[Contrary Housewife]

I put the receipt in my purse or pocket. If it is something like gas, a grocery item, or lunch out I don't keep it. The weekly grocery receipt I keep about a week, before then I know if something needs to be returned (like if milk goes bad before I open it).

For things like appliances, computer stuff, electronics and other major purchases I have a "receipts" pocket in our household file folder. Certain things have their own pocket, so all car related receipts go in the "car" pocket and all house related go in the "house" pocket, etc. I also have one for travel, medical, pets, and pretty much anything we spend money on on a regular basis. One-off expensive purchases go in the general pocket. Tax receipts go in the tax folder.

I also keep all the household bills filed here, as well as bank paperwork. I should file things as soon as I get them, but in reality they sit in a pile on top of the folder for about two months and then I file a bunch of stuff in a frenzy of cleaning.

I have found that getting one of those 25 pocket accordion folders greatly simplified the paperwork around here. It took a couple years to iron out the categories, but I have been so much more organized since then.

[frugalfranny]

I am the extreme case but have had too many times when I had positive reinforcement from it to stop.

I keep all receipts.

If it is a tax deduction......it goes in that folder. Others just go in an env. that I keep in a drawer and keep adding to it until it is full.......I put the date (start and stop) on the front and file it.

I have had to return plants......a year later (this year, returned 3)...and I had the receipt. Have had to take paint back to get it 'shook up' .....and had the receipt......have had to return stuff not used in a remodel....and had the receipt. Have even had a couple things break....say, 6 months down the road, and only because I had my receipt was I able to get my money back.

[tervsforme]

I do something very similar to beks37. I have an accordian file with 12 slots in it one for every month. I keep all my receipts and bank statements in that partilcar months slot. The only things that don't go in there are major home repairs and my property tax bills, everything gets filed in there. I use QuickBooks to keep track of my spending, so I can search on there to see when I bought something and then just look in the appropriate months slot. I have these going back 5 years. They take up very little space.

[shoiji]

I keep my receipts on a monthly basis. After the dollar amount is added to my monthly spreadsheet the receipt is put in an envelope. Any receipts for a specific large item is kept in a separate envelope.

[Libby]

I end up keeping everything I put them on my desk, meaning to sort and file later (usually I open up my wallet and take the wad of papers out) but they just pile up creating the illusion of clutter I tried putting them in a box to sort later as well...worked till the tiny box got full and overflowed.

As I am on the computer more and more now, I seem to pull out a few receipts from the pile here and there and thus just end up chucking them or shredding them.

Best bet - the envelope system as others have suggested. Have one for big ticket items that you should keep: furniture, electronics, car maintenance and home services performed.

The rest...keep in a box/envelope and sort weekly if you can keep on top of it.

OR

Make it a point to key them into your spreadsheet each night after dinner or while dinner is cooking this way you won't have a pile to key in later. I've learned to toss the grocery and gas ones along with misc small purchases (dollar store etc) after a wk or two.

Good Luck!

[PrairieRose]

I recycle manilla envelopes (the big ones) and mark each one with the month that I'm working in. This month will be Oct. 09. I pay my bills, keep any tax related or important enough (i.e. pricey) purchase receipts and if it's a big ticket item or something I'm likely to have to return or exchange I'll write 'Men's Citizen Watch' on the outside of the envelope so I'll easily be able to put my hands on the receipt by just looking at the outside of the envelopes. I have a computer paper box that I sit under my desk where these envelopes stand along with ones for Health Savings Account Expenses, Credit Card Charges to Post and Cash Receipts (kept separately for easy access at the end of the year for accounting purposes). It's very low tech but very user friendly. No need to file receipts according to vendors.......

[Incognito]

I get a receipt for everything, and put it immediately in my wallet, not the grocery bag where it might get lost. At home, I write the date and the item on the receipt. Then I dump my wallet receipts into an empty kleenex box, and go through them when they pile up. I save all the receipts needed for business expenses, warranties, possible allergic reactions, some food products, some "iffy" purchases which may have to be returned. I only part with a receipt if I am 100% sure I won't need it now or later. Later, they get stored in my income tax folders, and eventually get placed in clear plastic page protectors and filed away in the year's income tax binder.

And having these receipts has turned out to be a real problem-saver, and money-saver. I have been able to return or be refunded for products which were defective or that caused allergic reactions. And it helps me to track my purchases better too, and analyze my own shopping/money-spending habits as I do my accounts.

[dcompton]

If it's for a major item that comes with a manual (freezer, sewing machine, etc), I staple it inside the front cover of the manual.

I am sadly a person who thinks the floor is a great place to file, so to alleviate that problem, I put all statements, bills, etc in a basket. Other important receipts - car maintenance records, major purchases, etc, are tossed in with those. I cull all this at the end of the year into save/toss. Since I have mostly online statements, this is much less than it used to be.

Virtually all my ordinary expenses are put on a CC. The receipts hang around in a small basket until they post online and I'm sure the amount is correct, then become "toss-able" though I may not do it immediately. If it has something on it I may need to return, it lives in the can-be-tossed basket until I'm sure the item is a keeper.

Pretty thin on organization, but it works for me, since I don't have a lot of paperwork in my life.

[dcompton]

Oh, I forgot one kind of receipt. It really doesn't matter, but for the sake of completeness: if it is a receipt I'll get a reimbursement for - like my flexible spending account - I keep those in my purse until I am ready to prepare the claim.

[mauimagic]

This is still a work in progress for me. Have great systems and then just don't use them. Need to learn to follow through.

[bidzaway]

If it's for a big ticket item I keep it with the manual and staple/clip it and I have all of those in one folder. But other than that I keep most receipts in a cancelled check folder - I have one section for each month !