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.
