What do you do with receipts?

MrsKizdoodle

I feel like receipts have taken over our house!  They are in little piles everywhere to be sorted "later".  But....later never comes!

 

Does anyone have a great system for organizing receipts?  How long do you keep them?  I try to keep the "big ones" for items that have a possible chance for getting returned but I toss "little ones" like a lunch receipt or something.  I was thinking maybe getting one of these (in a smaller size) and keeping it somewhere handy.  What do ya think? 

Thanks!!!  :-)

 

 

101709lovey

I have one of the mini accordion folders to keep the receipts I know I need to (I keep all medical related ones, and clothing or other purchase receipts until I know I'm not going to need to return/exchange the items).

Receipts such as grocery store, food out, gas, etc. I only keep until they have cleared my account.  Once that happens, I shred them.  I also regularly go through my mini-accordion folder (usually once every 2 weeks) and clean it out so it doesn't get full of paper that I don't need.  HTH!

Magdala9

I have a small basket (9 x 6) with a lid on my desk.  All receipts go into the basket. On Sundays at 8, I will file the entire basket so that at 9, I can watch a favorite show.  If the basket overflows, I will also do additional sort and files.

lmdbww

I keep all important ones (either on the desk paper clipped together in a vertical file holder, or filed with other related papers in the filing cabinet) and shred everything else

Janell's Nest

I only keep receipts for things that I know I'll need for tax purposes.  I'm in business for myself so I keep all of those in a separate file with a tiny description of the purchase, as sometimes the store description isn't much.

Anything else gets shredded.

stardreamn01

I only keep important ones that I might need later, but you should scan them into your computer or take a picture especially for rebates and stuff because the ink will disappear after time.  All other ones if I paid with CC I will shred them once a week.

jarmstrong23

I'm a little late to the party, but I have a system that FINALLY works for me

I use the mini-accordion (like your picture), and I have the tabs labeled by Month (Jan, Feb, March, etc).  After receipts have cleared my account, I move them from my checkbook to the file, and they all go according to their month. They stay there until the year cycles through.  At that point, I shred the year-old receipts-- if I haven't needed it in the last 12 months, it feels safe to purge them

Receipts for major purchases-- appliances, technology equipment, etc.-- get stapled to the warrantee/instruction manual stuff, which gets filed differently.

Hope this helps!

pammieface

i toss everything except for clothing receipts, because i have been known to return clothes to the store if i change my mind later.  those i keep in a cup in my bedside table drawer, which i clean out once a year.  (and it's never overflowed...weird.)  i also keep receipts for stuff i've bought for school, because that's tax-related, on a magnetic clip on my refrigerator.  

bonnyandtim

OP: I have one of those accordion things for receipts I need long-term. Health receipts I can get reimbursed from my HSA, my business expenses, my wedding rings/guarantees, I am OCD & buy gifts super early so I keep some of those.

 

Receipts that are short term, I just have a basket on my desk & they get thrown in. When I'm done with that receipt, it goes in the shredder.