Inundated by paperwork

[Toothiewabbit]

I used to keep them and for the longest time, even my petrol reciepts, etc with mileage recorded.

 

Then, one day i realised, keeping them was making me a hoarder.  Thus, shredded ALL of them and only kept 6 months as evidence in case.  Throughout all these 20 odd years, NEVER have I had any instances to need to refer, so TS, just let go.

 

That said, for sentimental value, i still keep my payslips, right back to the 1st day I started work..hahahahah.  Think all would be faded by now.

 

CErtain things, I kep in files, and ring bound like:

 

1) IRAS issues

2) housing issues (1 file for EACH property)

3) Vehicle issues (1 file each again for EACH vehicle)

 

The files are well segregated with those separators for eg, in my vehicle file i have -

1) bank matters,

2) LTA matters,

3) servicing matters

4) Summons/HDB matters

5) Miscellaneous purchases

6) Insurance matters

 

 

thus, it is good to keep them for record.  AFTER I have sold the car, these are locked away for 3 years, then I will burn them.

 

 

thanks for sharing....I gotta lose the habit hoarding the bills/invoices for more than a year....else more OC feedback coming my way LOL

 

 

...hmmm....the separators, I dun think I need to include summons  

[RadX]

thanks for sharing....I gotta lose the habit hoarding the bills/invoices for more than a year....else more OC feedback coming my way LOL

 

 

...hmmm....the separators, I dun think I need to include summons

Lol... I complete mah not that I need it

[Playtime]

Can't belive some actually throw iras letters.

Be careful, people like IRAS have longgggggg memory. They can come back years later. . Better keep keep anything IRAS related for as long as possible. At least 5 years I think.

[Jusnel]

For myself, I receive hard copies of PUB, Starhub, CC bills, CPF statements, property tax, etc

 

for recurring bills like PUB, Starhub, CC bills, I will keep up to 6 months, then throw... so there are only 6 months of tracking.  These are non-essential bills. PUB, starhub are very standard one. the amount doesn't differ each month.  So why keep so many months?

 

Even for CC bills, only keep for 6 months. 

 

income tax, property tax, insurance policies, CPF statements, house loans, I will keep. No throw away. These are not regular monthly mails. Only once a year.  So its ok to keep. 

 

HP bill is soft copy.  Why bother with hard copy. The amount is fixed every month. 

 

And my file, keep in office, not at home. 

 

 

The headache ones are those warranty cards, user manuals, receipts for household appliances.  another file is full of them.   

 

 

 

[Mercury1]

Thanks for sharing wasn't aware of the bolded bit 

I just scan them and placed them into the 'external hard disk' and with each folder holding different papers or bills.

 

It can last for donkeys years but must remember to update the folders every time you change your computer cos "Operating System" keep upgrading. If don't, files cannot be read ...   

 

Need to submit any document, just retrieve and print one. Nowadays, documents printed from scan copies are acceptable in courts as legal document.

 

Anything you claim from IRAS best keep, for example maintenance of property, interest paid, life insurance claimed etc. But scan should be fine I guess so long as it tallies with your bank accounts

 

 

Can't belive some actually throw iras letters.
Be careful, people like IRAS have longgggggg memory. They can come back years later. . Better keep keep anything IRAS related for as long as possible. At least 5 years I think.

 

Must be one hell of a scanner, these days I also scan in birthday cards, postcards etc. Still keep the original but unlikely to ever retrieve just cause its just sentiments I guess.

 

If only can digitize all the old pics easily, I bet many of us have great old photo's to share of Singapore glory days.

 

 

bro, in fact, i found letters my grandma wrote more than 60 years ago to my grandpa. 

 

i scanned them at the highest resolution possible and each letter came up to 15-20mb. i also found old b&w photos ... about 200 ... i scanned everything at max res and in colour, so just archiving this family stuff took nearly 3-4gb. and i was able to share the folder with my entire extended family so everyone can view anytime at my expense (they just log on and view whatever they want, they dont need to download unless they want to.

 

i scan and keep a lot of useless shit, i know, but doesnt hurt in case one day need it. if not, still got 3/4 TB to go anyway

 

i also scan my school cert, uni diploma etc ... always comes in handy when someone ask for proof .. just send them immediately. dropbox has been nothing but value for me for me, happy to pay $99/year for it.

 

If you need help on the NAS drop me a pm, 

 

I use truecrypt to encrypt a container and keep it on the Nas for banking docs, this way even if they get the file they can't unlock it.

 

 

i should probably have a local NAS set up when i have the time, to mirror the backup. have to sit down and figure it out one weekend.

 

for those with security concerns, i recommend you 7zip the important ID documents with a password and then upload. obviously got to download the whole batch when you want to find 1, but having the password there helps somewhat.

 

[Darryn]

It is easy to file or even scan them. Once you don't manage them,they are just piles of rubbish.

 

Hw often do we refer to them? Best is still to update and throw away old ones.

Scanning not hard...the challenge is proper naming and taghing so people know what they are looking at

[Darryn]

I think if you go and search there are some online solutions that help you to enter and manage filing of documents of this nature - similar to a spreadsheet with the dates / amounts categories and then a PDF upload for a scan / digital copy of the invoice. 

 

The BIG BIG thing to remember here is that if you use such a service you should have 

a) A "local" copy (i.e download to a hard-drive of your own) 

b) A digital copy on the cloud (drop box is good and cheap) 

c) The copy on whatever service you are using. 

 

And be sure that instructions on where to find are written into your will or are recorded somewhere that people are SURE to find if required.  

[Kangadrool]

Microsoft has an app - Office Lens which allow you to scan your receipts, invoices, documents into OneDrive. It also allows you to convert pdf into text. 

 

It is available in Windows Phone, Android and iOS.

 

Most important, it's free.

Edited May 1, 2016 by Kangadrool

[Albeniz]

For the more important ones, I use the phone to snap a picture and then store under a folder.

 

Not worth keeping the hardcopy.

[Kangadrool]

Important docs should always have hardcopy as back up for court/legal use.

 

Not all scanned docs can be used as court evidence/audit. There's certain standards to adhere to. And this usually entails heavy investment into system and equipment.

 

For the more important ones, I use the phone to snap a picture and then store under a folder.

Not worth keeping the hardcopy.

 

Edited May 1, 2016 by Kangadrool

[Albeniz]

Important docs should always have hardcopy as back up for court/legal use.

 

Not all scanned docs can be used as court evidence/audit. There's certain standards to adhere to. And this usually entails heavy investment into system and equipment.

In a typical household, the more important documents which need hardcopies to be kept, won't be the ones causing a pile.

 

For these, a Toyogo box would be sufficient.

Edited May 1, 2016 by Albeniz

[Mercury1]

Thanks for the tip, I'll check it out. Definitely handy especially when receipts are concerned

 

Microsoft has an app - Office Lens which allow you to scan your receipts, invoices, documents into OneDrive. It also allows you to convert pdf into text. 

 

It is available in Windows Phone, Android and iOS.

 

Most important, it's free.