How important is it to save receipts?

[2moretrees]

OK, I'm terrible at this. When I save them they all get thrown in a box and by the time I look at them, I have forgotten what they're for and usually throw them away. how important do you think saving receipts is to you overall in saving money? if they are important, why and how do you use them to save. If I need to be using them more, I need good reasons to motivate myself.

[Optsol]

mandatory for small business owners. even if you aren't floating a side business, you should still keep the receipts for the year -- you never know if you'll start a business in November

For W2 folks, you never know when you'll be able to price match something 2 weeks from now...

[sweeps]

I highly recommend saving receipts. There are many times we had to dig up a receipt to return or exchange something or get a price adjustment -- sometimes months after the fact. They can also be useful for finding tax deductions. Last year we put too much into our Flexible Healthcare Savings Acct and went through the receipts to find health-related purchases to maximize our refund.

I don't think there's a strong need to organize receipts other than by year. In my experience it doesn't take too long to go through and find what you're looking for (especially if they're roughly in chronological order).

Shred/recycle all your receipts that go back before the previous calendar year, they're pretty useless.

[PieceofCake]

Save them all for a year. There's miscellaneous medical that can really add up.

[ender513]

All my receipts get tucked into my checkbook or wallet until they're entered into my checkbook register. From there, ATM and bank receipts, grocery receipts, and other small purchases are shredded once they're posted to my account or credit card (to verify that I was correctly charged). I save large purchases (such as electronics or that sort of thing) and staple the receipts to the owners manual and file that away. Other receipts are saved for a year and then are shredded.

[PRICEPLUS]

Important to save if you want more than the sale price or if there are problems! I save them for the life of major products with the instruction manual and warranty info! Some items I don't save the reciepts for such as groceries once they have been gone over for errors and totals entered for budget purposes.

[contrary1]

I always save receipts.......taught by example. My parents did, in fact they can come up with receipts for any major purchase they have made. It makes a fun record to look back on too!
I've saved money by having the receipt. Recently I'd bought a solar light for an area in the garden. Put it together, set it in the yard and........nothing. Didn't work. I had bought it before Christmas, didn't get it out to the yard until January. I had the receipt, so packaged it all back up and took it in for the refund this past week. It felt better to return it, rather than just toss it because of no receipt.
Also, I have to keep records of SSI monies spent for a client here...........so I've got a separate section for his receipts. What I really would love is an office in it's own room! I'm carving space out of the common area of the house & I miss being able to have my own office!!! There is enough book work here to fill an entire office!!!

[Ima saver]

I am not good about saving receipts except at places like Wal Mart. I am going to start to do better on this. I do keep the receipt from the grocery store until I enter the amount I saved that day to my $5000 challenge money!!

[frugalfarmwife]

We save all receipts, with our being a farm all pharmicutical, feed, diesel, machinery, livestock bought and sold is important for our taxes and really we buy very little other than that.

kj

[BAGAGT1]

I save reciepts for about 6 months, then I shred them. It has helped to have a place where I can find them if I need to return a product that is defective.

[jacquelynrose]

I save my reciepts from my Benny Card....that is usually the only time unless I know I am going to return something...

[john849]

They should be saved just incase you need to spend something back that you have purchased due to a problem.

Also, I save every receipt that I get as I need them at the end of the financial year when I do the books for my business.