So What Important Bill Paperwork Do You Keep?

After the money has cleared the account I toss it. Dr receipts and things like that I keep for taxes and then the next 3 yrs(in case of audit)

Mortgage and Utility bills, until the next one comes.
Doctor's bills, until the charge goes through
I don't get eob's in paper form. They are available electronically on the insurance company site.
medical test results, I request a copy and keep them as long as they are relevant because it seems impossible to get results sent to the doctor in time for my appointment
Taxes 7 years

If you have a bill pay system on your bank account, you can put all pertinent information in the system and also request notification when the payment is received.

We all have WAY too much paper around. I would keep only important documents, deeds, marriage, birth and death certificates, etc. not im my home, but in a safe deposit box. I also recommend keeping negatives or in this day and age extra disc of family photos in the safe deposit box or a fireproof,waterproof container.

Blessings....

Everything is online. I can retrieve all the information I ever need by going to various websites and getting a report for the year. I receive almost no paper and I save none.

My medical history is saved by my clinic.

I pay most of my bills online, so I don't get many statements in the mail (mortgage, insurance, etc.). I keep credit card statements, medical bills and insurance statements, student loan statements, business expense receipts, etc. for 2 years. I have 2010's bills/statements in a set of folders in one file drawer and 2011's in another set of folders in another drawer. When I prep my taxes for my accountant, I shred the 2 year old statements, file that tax year's statements in my "old stuff" drawer and start filing the new year's statements in my "current year" drawer.
I shred utility bills immediately, since I pay my bills online and have a record of how much I pay each month.

If you need a copy of any statement, the bank, cable company, phone, utility, etc all have them so technically you don't "need" to keep any of them. With the beauty of computer technology, you can request a copy of practically anything over any time frame. I call in and pay all our bills every month and then I shred them. I don't keep anything except taxes and receipts. I have a file for "contracts" and our birth certs, marriage certs, etc. I don't keep anything else.

One year, the only thing you have to keep longer is tax forms and back up for your taxes. That would be three years unless you committed fraud, you didn't commit fraud did you? :p

I used to keep EVERYTHING. Over time, I've realized that pretty much everything is available online, from past billing statements (even mortgage info) to insurance EOBs. I now keep things for 1 month - until I get the next statement showing that the previous bill way paid, then I shred the previous month. So now I only keep deeds, payoff statements from loans, birth certificates, tax files (maybe few other things like that).

Other things I keep are receipts from more expensive items and a copy of my insurance policy. I keep these for insurance purposes in case of something tragic like my house burning down (I keep things in a fireproof cabinet).

What I do really still hoard are instruction manuals from things that I buy, and if there is any kind of warranty, I try to staple the receipt to the warranty page. This takes up a lot of space, but it's really been useful over the years.

I don't know - I have never figured this out and it drives me crazy. Great question.

I throw away everything. I only keep something if I have a question about something on the bill. It is easier for me to look in my checkbook journal to see what I paid in the previous month. When I write what I am making a check out to, I also write the balance of the bill.