How long do you keep bank statements?

[AprilSun]

How long do you keep your printed bank statements? I have been searching online for the answer and one site will say 1 year and then one site will say 3 years, etc. unless they are associated with tax records. They are not all in agreement about it so what do you do?

 

[Lon]

I don't Save them at all. I am totally paperless.

 

[Falcon]

Usually shred them.

 

[tnthomas]

I can download my statements in .PDF form, I leave them on a storage hard drive that's secure.

 

[RadishRose]

Way back when I used to get paper statements, a few months, perhaps 6 or so- then shredded.

 

[Knight]

Same as Lon paperless

 

[Buckeye]

I still get them from several banks but I shred them upon receipt. It's on my "to do" list to get them turned off.

Hoot, MBA, CPA*

*License is inactive

 

[Steve LS]

Same as Lon paperless

Ditto

 

[nvtribefan]

I haven't received a paper statement in years.

 

[Butterfly]

I am paperless, too.

 

[Aunt Bea]

I keep my financial statements for a running five years, it's a habit that I started when my mother was in the assisted living. I had to spend quite a bit of time gathering my mother's financial information in preparation for a medicaid application, that as it turned out we never needed to file. At the time it was only three years worth of information and I increased the number to five years as the medicaid laws changed. I may never need the information but I like to be prepared.

 

[AprilSun]

I have thought about going paperless but I like to have a "hard copy" in front of me when I balance my checkbook. If I have to print one out when I get ready to balance it, I won't be any better off.

 

[Knight]

I have thought about going paperless but I like to have a "hard copy" in front of me when I balance my checkbook. If I have to print one out when I get ready to balance it, I won't be any better off.

If you feel comfortable having a hard copy then why not copy and paste your bank statement to a note pad and save it in your documents.


Of course you would have to have an online account with wherever you bank.



With direct deposit in and electronic deductions for utility payment combined with electronic payment to our credit card account, record keeping is only a matter of accessing the account to verify the balance in our local checking account. Quick easy and accurate to the penny every time I decide to check.

 

[tortiecat]

Do all my banking 'online' see my statements monthly and then delete.

 

[Don M.]

We, too, are paperless. I can bring up our statements quickly on the banks websites, and they all go back at least 18 months. I check our accounts 2 or 3 times a week, just to make sure that there is no "hanky panky" with our accounts. Besides, by the time a "paper" statement would arrive, we would have probably had several transactions that would not show until the next months statement arrived.

 

[OneEyedDiva]

I'm paperless also. And the banks pay so little in interest anyway that it's not enough to even file at tax time.