Printing Statements

[Jerry1]

Everything is electronic these days, but I’m thinking I should still print off and file my statements from brokerage and bank accounts at year end. I’m I just being old fashion or does it make sense to have a hard copy once a year. What do you do?

 

[USGrant1962]

I still get paper monthly statements from Vanguard and my 401(k). Every month or so when I long in they try to get me to switch to 100% e-delivery, but I refuse. I do electronic for transactions, annual reports, etc.

 

[RunningBum]

I still have Vanguard send me a hardcopy of the year end statement. If they stopped doing that, I would probably just save a copy to pdf. I don't do this for any other institutions. I might still have old checkbook registers, but for the last few years I've been using a spreadsheet for my checking account instead.

I have any institution that will do it send me a printed copy of end of year tax statements. If they don't I print it. It's just easier for me to organize, to have the pile I've already entered in TurboTax, with a check mark at the top, and the pile yet to enter. After a few years I thin out what I save for taxes...I think I just save a copy of the major forms I send to the IRS, and maybe the big 1099s. I'd have to dig out the tax box and look at what's still in each folder.

I also have a shoe box I start dumping receipts and anything utilities, etc mail to me these days. I used to save a box for each year but that got to be too much so last year I went through and got rid of much of the stuff and now a box holds 3-4 years. I also made a note in my estate document that these can just be tossed. Once I'm dead and the estate is settled I don't think ID theft is a concern.

I'm probably old fashioned with saving this much too, but it's what I do.

 

[LOL!]

I print out year-end statement that affect my tax return. I save them to external hard drive as well, but I don't trust the hard drive forever. I print out my tax return as well. So if I need to look something up, I know exactly where to find everything even if I only have sunlight or a flashlight to light things up.

Otherwise, I shred all incoming paper quickly. I'm old enough to know that I have shredded months of useless saved statements, so I'm way past trying to save all but the bare minimum.

 

[frayne]

I print out my statements and file a hard copy monthly. At the end of the year I shred as needed. Still have hard copies of year end statements, ten years back.

 

[Scuba]

I file everything electronically. I print what I need, which typically is only year end tax statements for my CPA.

 

[bobandsherry]

After nearly 40 years in adulthood, I've reflected on the fact that I've never needed a statement except once when buying a house many years ago. Short story is I had a large deposit for sale of asset that the underwriter got their panties in a bunch over, unknown why. But all I did was request the copy from bank. Never needed any other historic and archived statement, and def nothing that was more than last year, which today is easily accessible online. But that's just me.

 

[scrabbler1]

Fidelity sends me paper statements every month and year-ended. They include a 3-hole punch which is handy because I put them into a 3-ring binder. When I get the year-ended, I shred the 12 monthly statements. I get similar statements from Dreyfus.


At the end of the year, I create my own, handwritten summary of the Fidelity and Dreyfus statements so I can combine data across companies and investment types for my tax return.


As for storing other documents, my general rule is to keep one full calendar year plus the current year. This means I have to begin my transition, throwing out the 2017 receipts, putting the 2018 ones in their place, and making way for the 2019 receipts to build up. Exceptions to this include medical bills and receipts because they are tax-deductible and I want to keep a record of things which are done to me.


As for tax returns, I keep full folders for 5 years; stuff before that I pare down to the essentials such as copies of filed forms, supporting documents, and worksheets. I end up tossing about 2/3 of the contents, mostly instruction booklets and user guides.

 

[mpeirce]

I file everything electronically. I print what I need, which typically is only year end tax statements for my CPA.

We do this too. We download PDFs and store them in cloud based storage.

Even the occasional printed statements or bills or whatever we get, we scan them in and file them electronically. We're close to getting rid of all our paper files.

 

[easysurfer]

For my Vanguard statements, I prefer paper copies.

Bank checking I download a pdf file each month and store on computer.

The rest like credit card, utility statements, I don't keep but just go online to access.

I also have a portable document scanner as am trying to go digital more than in the past.

Only thing I want now is a color printer. I know, seems like backwards logic .

 

[MRG]

I spent my career getting rid of paper. No.

 

[ERD50]

I think printing EOY and filing it away with a paper copy of tax returns is easy and prudent.

I like having things on the computer, backed up and searchable, but sometimes just laying out the paper on a physical desktop is easier. And if someone else needs them if you were incapacitated, it's probably easier to find paper than some directory tucked away somewhere on a computer.

-ERD50

 

[mpeirce]

I also have a portable document scanner as am trying to go digital more than in the past.

We have a scanner too, but have mostly switched to using the iPhone. There are a couple of good scan apps (like scanner pro) and other apps, like the Drop Box app, has nice scanner functionality. Even Apple's notes app does a great job of scanning in documents.

And by "scanner functionality" I mean it takes a picture of the document and processes it to de-skew and make it into a nice rectangular page. They typically also combine multiple pages into a single doc. Usually OCR too so you can do text searches.

The phone is much faster than firing up the scanner!

 

[PatrickA5]

I print out the year end statements and keep them. Mainly as proof that I actually have an account and also as something my heirs can see to give them some idea of what we have and where. All of these are included in my "When I'm Dead" book to make things easier for my DW and Kids.

 

[Montecfo]

For current investment accounts I get paper statements. And I file them in a 3 ring binder with all the transaction statements so I have all the basis records at hand. I consolidated my accounts at a single brokerage a few years ago, making this pretty simple. Still multiple accounts though.

I also download the electronic copies of all investment statements. I electronically archive those locally and on an external hard drive. I tend to do this once per year after taxes are done.

I compiled a spreadsheet of all my investment accounts and history back to my first savings account a couple of years ago and maintain that. I like knowing the pedigree of my current consolidated investment accounts. Doing that allowed me to get rid of a lot of older paper records of old accounts.

I have all my tax returns and work papers that I have ever filed, stored on paper. It is overkill but there is little to be gained by going through and throwing them out as they take up little room.

I do my taxes using Turbotax, filed on paper. I also keep an electronic copy. I do not e-file for security reasons.

I am reducing the paper I get in, but it seem unproductive to get only electronic copies of something and then spend your own time, ink, and paper printing them out.

 

[Luck_Club]

Consider keeping paper for your executor, should they need to find the assets. Electronic files are easily lost and difficult to access. This is especially important should you become incompetent at some point prior to death.

 

[audreyh1]

I just keep electronic copies of statements now. Have for the past decade.

 

[steelyman]

I print out the year end statements and keep them. Mainly as proof that I actually have an account and also as something my heirs can see to give them some idea of what we have and where. All of these are included in my "When I'm Dead" book to make things easier for my DW and Kids.

While my equivalent book has a different title, it’s a good thing to have and write/update while still on your game.

My current version includes where/how to find passwords for websites, especially those financial-related.

 

[Sunset]

I just keep electronic copies of statements now. Have for the past decade.

+1
And I back up my computer files to a few external hard drives and thumb drives every month or after making big changes to important files (like at tax time).

I find it easier to find documents on computer than in paper files, as I can search on the computer and I name each file as I get it with a meaningful name.

 

[GrayHare]

I save transaction papers to facilitate cost basis calculations. I've found brokerages to be unreliable about sending copies of old statements, and at least one has flat out refused.

 

[googily]

I just keep electronic copies of statements now. Have for the past decade.

+2, except I do keep paper versions of year end statements, mainly so that if I pop off someone can have a good idea of my accounts, if they don't find all of the other account pointers I've left for them. [emoji16]

 

[Dtail]

I print all the brokerage and bank statements for my parents for their tax return.

 

[Sue J]

I keep the pdf file for most things but for anything related to medical expenses - health insurance EOB, provider bills and receipts, end of year statement from credit card used for medical things - I keep a printed copy. We have HSA accounts and I keep physical copies of anything needed to back up our use of the HSA.

 

[swakyaby]

Consider keeping paper for your executor, should they need to find the assets. Electronic files are easily lost and difficult to access. This is especially important should you become incompetent at some point prior to death.

This is true. Our family has come across this issue since father passed in 2002 and mother recently passed. Unfortunately, the paper records of financial assets in 2002 were destroyed by either the trustee or my mother, and the banks do not hold electronic records of assets held that long ago. This has become an issue in resolving the A-B trust.

 

[W2R]

Everything is electronic these days, but I’m thinking I should still print off and file my statements from brokerage and bank accounts at year end. I’m I just being old fashion or does it make sense to have a hard copy once a year. What do you do?

I am on the fence!

I keep PDFs of my quarterly statement from Vanguard. Since I do weekly multiple backups of my laptop computer, these are well backed up. They are less likely to get lost or accidently thrown away, than paper statements, and can be printed out any time if I should happen to need a hard copy.

My bank stopped sending me paper statements. I don't archive electronic copies, but check activity in my bank accounts and their balances online every day.

The TSP sends me paper statements which I dutifully file in my filing cabinet.