Monday 30 June 2014

The Personal Documents You Should Be Shredding

It doesn’t take long to build up a collection of paper and receipts chock full of your personal info, while you may get the urge to throw all of the documents out (or cleanse with fire), the more secure (and safer) option is to shred. The next question you might ask is “what do I shred?” Keep reading and you’ll see how you can cut down on all that paper clutter:
What to Shred:
  • Anything that has personal info (your name, phone number, address, social security number, or bank account info)
  • ATM receipts
  • Bills
  • Credit card receipts
  • Used airline tickets
  • Expired credit cards, visas, passports, and IDs
 The documents you should be shredding after a certain amount of time:
  • Tax records and receipts – 7 years
  • Pay stubs and bank statements – 1 year
  • Home purchase, sale, or improvement documents – 6 Years after you sell
  • Medical records and bills – 1 Year after payment (in case of disputes)
  • Warranty docs – Until it expires
While you can’t control what businesses do with your personal info, you can by shredding your own personal documents. As long as you shred what was just covered, you won’t be the cause of your own identity theft.

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