This week I’m talking about organizing your financial documents - how to do it and how to get some quick wins and make progress towards a more organized financial life. 

Today I’m tackling another common question I’m asked: “Ashley, how long should I keep all of my financial documents?”

That’s a really good question! Yesterday, I talked about what you can shred, so today I’m going to focus on what you should keep. 

Let’s start with your tax records. 

7 years is a good rule for keeping your tax records. It’s a good idea to keep annual tax filings, 1099s, and other tax forms for 7 years. Keep them in a file by year, then just cycle out the file every 7 years. 

For your investment accounts, keep your annual summaries. I like keeping all of the year-end summaries and year-end account statements for each of your financial accounts, going back indefinitely, especially for taxable accounts where it matters knowing when you bought something and what you paid. 

Speaking of when you bought something...

I also advise clients to keep trade confirmation statements forever. You may have bought a stock back in 1991, you still own it, and it has a massive gain. You’ll want to know what day you purchased the stock, at what price, and how many shares you bought to keep accurate records of the stock. Also, if you’ve been investing for a while, you’ve probably received those shareholder class action letters. If you ever want to participate in one of those, you’ll need to show proof of when you purchased the stock, so it’s just a good idea to always hold on to trade confirmations.

If you’re like, “crap! I haven’t held on to any of those things!” That’s ok. Go back to your financial institution or your tax advisor and see if they can send you copies of old tax records, year-end summaries, and trade confirmations that you might be missing. 

That’s it for today, but before you go...If you haven’t already left a review for the One Minute Retirement Tip, please consider leaving an honest review in Amazon or Apple Podcasts. I read them all, so feel free to leave any feedback or topic suggestions there too. 

Thanks for listening. My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the One Minute Retirement Tip.

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