Teddy boys, IRA, Margate and Notting Hill riots? I think you were badly informed 
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Maybe it was just the case, no one had anything worth robbing 
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I document my daily spending and put receipts to the side. Then when I canât put anything down for the mess I have a clear up. Cash receipts in a rubbish bag, ones paid for by card in a separate pile for cutting up the payment details, just in case.
One of our removal companies has the shredding scheme and I have in the past filled several bags with so much paperwork, I fear Iâm heading back in that direction. Somewhere I have an electric shredder, and a hand crank one, and the scissors with multiple blades. The scissors I use more often. I even cut out anything with my name/name and address. Nothing showing these details ever gets thrown in the general rubbish.
I really need to be more organised like Right Now. And thereâs me, an ex secretary! But I too record what I buy and spend. Every now and then I throw the little books away so I canât understand why I still do it.
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I too tear name, address and account number off then shred or rip up the bill
After a shredding session when the bag is ready to dump, I squirt washing up liquid over the shredded papers, and give the bag a good shake, youâd have to be desperate to wade through that mess !
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I put copies of Harryâs book Spare in the bag. Nobody, but nobody, gets past that deterrent 
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I would expect nothing less Spitty⊠
Every time I spend anything using a card it is immediately entered onto a spreadsheet.
I have a duplicate bank account on my laptop, and any deposits or withdrawals/spends are entered on to the spreadsheet. I can go back to 2009 but before then I was self employed and all my jobs, deliveries, tax, vat and all other expenses and spends were well documented for tax and vat purposes. They go back to 2001 and are still accessible.
As soon as a receipt is entered it is usually disposed of, unless itâs a receipt for an item that might be returned.
A quick check with my bank occassionally to make sure that our figures agree.
I also run an account for my credit card where all spending is logged and payments made.
Always be sure to destroy the barcode/QR code when disposing of personal documents. All of you information can be recovered from them.
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Thanks for that tip OldGreyFox, I didnât know that about barcodesâŠ
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Iâve bought a self inked roller that I run over anything I want hidden/redacted. Works well enough.
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My account spreadsheet looks forward and backwards, every fixed incoming and outgoing is in there up to the end of the year, the reason being like last week, we had a large expense for some work on the roof, I can see exactly what impact that has had on disposable income up to the end of the year, it is useful in that, the visibility of the impact lessens the instinct to panic and rely on credit
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I am highly methodical and have all of my papers and those of my wife, all categorised and kept in each relevant folder/ring-binder. As for length of time that papers are kept, my method is a rolling 10yr period and every late December those over 10yr are reappraised and either discarded or kept depending on their relevance.
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Yes! Thatâs my kind of retention safekeeping!
My same method, style, except that I only have a 5-year period unless thereâs an issue. 
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As I have to self-asses for tax purposes (complicated reasons), my lawyer wife (retired) advised me to keep all for at least 7yrs even though HMG require them to be kept for 5yrs.
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Because itâs mostly on a laptop or memory stick, or even an old computer not connected to the internet, everything is retained indefinitely. Of course there are some hard copies of the really important stuffâŠBirth, death and marriage certificates and house deeds etcâŠ
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Oh Foxy, those magnetic/electronic memory devices can easily be corrupted.
As such, I keep paper copies of everything from payment receipts to medical letters for a minimum of 7yrs and indefinitely for the very important stuffđ
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Being a bit of a hoarder I canât bear to throw things away so I have a lot of paperwork. Next to my computer on the back of the doors are receipts from supermarkets, Bunnings etc. They are like geology the lower the level the older the receipt
Then there are the rates notices, credit card, electric and water bills, carefully filed away under my computer desk. The older ones are in my back room in elastic bands.
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You are well organised.
Those little slips of paper they give you after a contactless payment will be next to go. In fact they now ask before printing, and itâs only the old folk that collect them.
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Havenât seen many Nigerian princes hanging around recently either - way to go!
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That name Bunnings would be good for a rabbit farm
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I remember my dad had one of these when he bought his first car in the late 60âs - a Ford Cortina.
He was convinced that no one could steal the car with one of these fitted, and they never did, although i donât know if anyone ever tried to.
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