How long to keep statements/bills?!?!

[skylog]

i can only tell you what i do. i save everything, but everything i have is in pdf form on my computer (although i have paper copies of my taxes as well). since i will never fill up the hard drive space i just keep it all. that said, it is very organized and setup in such a way that it is easy to do/maintain. everything is also backed up on several drives, as that would be one of the main concerns using this method.

[disneysteve]

I have all bills for the past 5 years electronically. I have an external hard drive that I back it up on.

I think this is the modern answer to the question. If you get your bills electronically, you can store them electronically at little to no cost and they take up no space in your home. Memory is dirt cheap today. I posted a while back that I recently got a 1 terabyte external hard drive for $89. That is enough capacity to store every statement for the rest of my life and then some.

[ksluis62]

I love the electronic storage idea. But I'm thinking its best to use an internet-based backup service in addition to the home computer. That way, if your hard drive crashes or your house burns down, you have a backup. Plus, you can probably view your documents from any computer, not just your home computer.

Is anybody using an internet-based backup service? Some companies I see with a google search are XDrive, FilesAnywhere, and Carbonite.

[ksluis62]

I found this PC Magazine review of online backup services (from April, 2008). Looks like you can get a good, automated backup service for $50 a year.

The Best Online Backup Services - PC Magazine

[sweeps]

Online backup is a great idea, but there are practical issues. The main problem is data upload speed. Most of us have high speed cable or DSL internet access, but that high speed is only on the download side. If you have a lot of data you'll be wanting to backup, you may pull your hair out with how long it takes.

It's fine putting the backup on autopilot so you don't have to monitor it, but keep in mind while the backup is happening all the computers in your house accessing the internet will run noticeably slower. (Even when you think you're just downloading, you're actually uploading some too.)

All this was too much of a pain for me, so for off-site backups, I just write a DVD occasionally (with files encrypted) and give a copy to my mother-in-law so it is off-site.

[momof1in150]

Cox has an internet back up option. The other way I can back up my contact list is through our local MLS. It is nice to know that list is stored somewhere else because my contacts are my lifeline.

[DrPepper_23]

I agree with one said to copied the statement electronically, however, I wouldn't want it to back-up on hard drive, however, to have copy the statement to usb and external, always back up on two different source at the same time, in case, if one crashes then use the secondary.

[~bs]

I generally keep for 1 year, but if it's business or tax return related, I've been keeping them for 7 years.

[thesimplemoneyblog]

As some of the others indicated, if you can save them electronically, then you can keep them for far longer. I make an effort each month to download copies of all statements that I receive (you never know when you may switch banks and ultimately lose your online access). Especially with storage so cheap these days, there isn't any limitation or requirement to keep the statements only for a short period of time. The key is to come up with a folder system that makes sense for you to help you reference the documents quicker and easier later.

You never know when you may have to reference an old statement that your online bank account may not even have access to anymore.