Weekend Linkage – July 26, 2009
I spent most of the time last night and another two hours this morning shredding our documents as we are getting closer to moving to Virginia. Believe me, it isn’t any easy job because we have accumulate more then ten years of bank statements, credit card bills, investment records, and pay stubs. Even though we have moved a couple of times in the past decades, those documents were never discarded. They have been kept in two original boxes when we first packed them and stayed in the deepest corner in our basement for more than five years. Since we haven’t touched any those documents for years, I think the time has finally come to get rid of them.
To do a better job in destroying our financial information, I even bought a Fellowes PowerShred cross-cut shredder for $80 at Costco. The shredder I have for years is a straight-cut shredder that can only cut 2 sheets at a time. The new shredder is a little expensive, but it gets the job done, well done.
Well, I didn’t destroy every piece of paper in the boxes. I managed to find my first pay stub when I worked as a research assistant in the school where I got my degree, and the first pay stub of every job I had after graduation, as well as my wife’s first pay statements that I decide to keep.
After the hard work, I feel it’s better to destroy those records right away when I receive them, instead of waiting a few years to shred them all together. The papers I am getting these are much less now than before because I get most statements and bills online, except a few mutual find companies which keep sending a confirmation every time I make a purchase.
Weekend Readings
- The Art of The Business Trip
- Avoid The Next Internet Scam: Tips For Selling Safely Online
- How Much House Can I Afford?
- Chase Bank is Helping You Avoid Fees by Stating the Obvious
- Save Money on Car Insurance
- Buying a Car – The Research
- No Load Mutual Fund vs Load Mutual Fund
- The Exponential Power of Delayed Consumption
- Going Green: Costs Big Bucks, Returns Big Bucks
- Cash For Clunkers: Car Allowance Rebate System Questions and Answers
- How to Spot an Investment Bubble
- Credit Card Calculator: Reduce Your Credit Card Debt Faster
Carnivals
- Money Hacks Carnival #74 – Saturday Morning Cartoons Edition
- Carnival of Personal Finance #214: United States Presidents Edition
- Carnival Of Money Stories #11 – Money Quotes Edition
photo credit: SurfGuard
Thanks for linking back to the carnival! It’s weird that you’re going to be moving to Virginia – so am I! I too am going through papers and shredding a lot of stuff. My parents bought me a cross-cut shredder for Christmas, and laughed at how excited I was! But it’s kinda fun, shredding all that stuff.
We need to get a shredder. We’ve accumulated a lot of paperwork and I’d like to reduce it considerably. Thanks, I’m going to check out Costco next trip for a shredder.
Thank you too for mentioning my post on he Cash for Clunkers program.
My Father always questioned our common habit of “keeping things”. He’s right. After 10+ years, then we decide to move and have a small town to pack (or shred).
Then, as you mentioned, there’s the option of going online with the majority of our bills etc. – but then for the sake of going paperless, our security is somewhat compromised.
Then again, our security is compromised with a paper trail, too. Anyway, that reminds me to get myself a shredder!