Keep or Shred? How to Manage Your Important Documents with Confidence

Hands sifting through shredded documents in the bin of a document shredder.

With tax season looming, many people can picture a memory from the not-too-distant past: box after heavy box of documents and receipts collecting dust for eternity. Today we can scan and shred records to our hearts’ desire, but questions remain.

Should all records now be digitized? Should some be shredded? Are some better intact? And when should the shredding commence? If confusion is setting in, fear not. Here are some simple tips that could make this year’s post-tax routine a little lighter.

Shred Immediately
      • Sales receipts (unless related to warranties, taxes or insurance)
      • Canceled Checks (unless tax-related)
      • ATM receipts
      • Paid credit card and utility bills
      • Credit offers
      • Expired Warranties

Shred After One Year
      • Pay Stubs
      • Bank Statements
      • Paid, undisputed medical bills

Shred After Seven Years
      • Tax-related receipts
      • Tax-related canceled checks
      • W-2s
      •Tax deduction records

Keep While Useful
      • Vehicle titles (for as long as you keep the car)
      • Home deeds (for as long as you live there)
      • Disputed medical bills (until resolved)
      • Home Improvement Receipts (until you’ve sold and paid any capital gains taxes)

Keep for Life
      • Birth certificates or adoption papers
      • Social security cards
      • Citizenship papers
      • Passports
      • Marriage or divorce decrees
      • Family death certificates
      • Tax Returns (even if these are no longer on paper, it’s still advised to hold on to the digital files)

How to Virtually Store Documents
Digitizing wisely requires more than just scanning and organizing, especially when it comes to tax-related data. Secure storage solutions, like Everplans and Vault, can ensure long-term privacy and offer confidence that your files are protected. There are also highly rated mobile apps, such as Adobe Scan, ABBYY FineReader PDF, Genius Scan and more. Find what suits you and let the privacy party begin.

Locations

CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA OFFICE

190 Choate Circle, Suite B
Montoursville, PA 17754
570-505-1289

LEHIGH VALLEY OFFICE

49 E. Center Sreet, Suite 102
Nazareth, PA 18064
610-365-8249
By Appointment Only

NEW JERSEY OFFICE

123 Egg Harbor Road, Suite 302
Sewell, NJ 08080
856-352-6606

About Us

Resources

Connect

Securities offered through Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. member FINRA/SIPC. Investment Advisory Services are offered through Raymond James Financial Services Advisors, Inc. Aspire Wealth Group is not a registered broker/dealer, and is independent of Raymond James Financial Services.

Raymond James financial advisors may only conduct business with residents of the states and/or jurisdictions for which they are properly registered. Therefore, a response to a request for information may be delayed. Please note that not all of the investments and services mentioned are available in every state. Investors outside of the United States are subject to securities and tax regulations within their applicable jurisdiction that are not addressed on this site. Contact your local Raymond James office for information and availability.

Raymond James and its advisors do not offer tax or legal advice. You should discuss any tax or legal matters with the appropriate professional. Links are being provided for information purposes only. Raymond James is not affiliated with and does not endorse, authorize or sponsor any of the listed websites or their respective sponsors. Raymond James is not responsible for the content of any website or the collection or use of information regarding any website’s users and/or members.

Chairman's Council Membership is based on prior year fiscal year production. Re-qualification is required annually. The ranking may not be representative of any one client’s experience, is not an endorsement, and is not indicative of future performance. No fee is paid in exchange for this award/rating.

The Forbes Top Wealth Advisors Best-In-State 2024 ranking, developed by SHOOK Research, is based on an algorithm of qualitative criteria, mostly gained through telephone and in-person due diligence interviews, and quantitative data. This ranking is based upon the period from 6/30/2022 to 6/30/2023 and was released on 4/3/2024. Those advisors that are considered have a minimum of seven years of experience, and the algorithm weights factors like revenue trends, assets under management, compliance records, industry experience and those that encompass best practices in their practices and approach to working with clients. Portfolio performance is not a criteria due to varying client objectives and lack of audited data. Out of approximately 42,108 nominations, roughly 8,500 advisors received the award. This ranking is not indicative of an advisor's future performance, is not an endorsement, and may not be representative of individual clients' experience. Neither Raymond James nor any of its Financial Advisors or RIA firms pay a fee in exchange for this award/rating. Raymond James is not affiliated with Forbes or Shook Research, LLC. Please visit https://www.forbes.com/best-in-state-wealth-advisors for more info.

The 2025 Forbes Best-In-State Wealth Management Teams, developed by SHOOK Research, is based on an algorithm of qualitative criteria, mostly gained through telephone and in-person due diligence interviews, and quantitative data. This ranking is based upon the period from 3/31/2023 to 3/31/2024 and was released on 01/09/2025. Advisor teams that are considered must have one advisor with a minimum of seven years of experience, have been in existence as a team for at least one year, have at least 5 team members, and have been nominated by their firm. The algorithm weights factors like revenue trends, assets under management, compliance records, industry experience and those that encompass best practices in their practices and approach to working with clients. Portfolio performance is not a criteria due to varying client objectives and lack of audited data. Out of approximately 11,674 team nominations, 5,331 advisor teams received the award based on thresholds. This ranking is not indicative of an advisor's future performance, is not an endorsement, and may not be representative of individual clients' experience. Neither Raymond James nor any of its Financial Advisors or RIA firms pay a fee in exchange for this award/rating. Compensation provided for using the rating. Raymond James is not affiliated with Forbes or Shook Research, LLC. Please see https://www.forbes.com/lists/wealthmanagement-teams-best-in-state for more info.

Website by:

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.