Tip # 318: Keep all your receipts for at least 3 months.

receipt boxOr even a year if you can take it! This may sound like common sense to many of you, but iโ€™m willing to bet that you or a neighbor donโ€™t listen ;)

I didnโ€™t either until 4 years ago when all i needed was one freakinโ€™ tiny piece of paper that could have saved me a good $200. i never found it, and i never got my money. in fact, i tear up just thinking about itโ€ฆ.bleh.

So whatโ€™s the easiest way? I like the olโ€™ shoebox method:

  1. Find a shoebox.
  2. Find a sharpy.
  3. Scribble โ€œ2008โ€ on the top.
  4. Place every receipt from 2008 into it.
  5. When it gets filled, either throw them all away (minus the huge purchases), or if youโ€™re a storage nazi, stash the box away and repeat the process.
  6. Bask in your organized glory!

Thatโ€™s it! At least the lazy manโ€™s version anyways ;) Iโ€™ve tried plenty of other methods before, but none got me to stick to it quite as nicely. I actually use a similiar version today โ€“ instead of shoeboxes though, i use drawers from a fancy pants piece of furniture i picked up a while ago but never knew what to do with. Each drawer is a year! hahaโ€ฆno one would ever tell by just looking at it.

This works for warranties too. I keep a box (and sometimes a drawer, safe, or filing cabinet when room permits) for all โ€œimportant filesโ€ such as warranties and other records you normally forget about or accidently throw away. No more worrying for me!

It really doesnโ€™t matter where you keep them though โ€“ as long as you HAVE them and know WHERE they are, youโ€™re all good!

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