Credit card statements can end up needing a lot of place, especially if you have the tendency to keep years of paperwork. But we have some good news: you can seriously consider lightening the load a bit when it comes to them!
According to financial experts and analysts, credit cardholders should indeed keep their personal credit statements, but not forever. In fact, it’s recommended to hold them for a minimum of 60 days in most cases and then recycle them without any worries. However, there are a few details you should know before getting rid of yours.
It depends on your purchases
Specifically, the amount of time credit card statements should be kept depends on what you’re using that credit card for and if you’re relying on hard copies, instead of online statements.
Most people believe that keeping statements for at least 60 days is enough, but there are a few recommendations regarding this to be considered!
First of all, it’s very important to both double-check and confirm any purchase made against receipt copies or any other kinds of proof of purchase. Think about reviewing each and every of your monthly statements, in order to avoid any kind of surprises, like mistakes, and identify any attempt of identity theft or fraud.
When to keep your statements for more than 60 days
On the other hand, even if getting rid of your statements is of after a period of 60 days, there is advisable to keep them for longer though, in a few specific situations.
As mentioned above, if you tend to rely on hard copies of credit card statements, it’s better to keep them for up to a year. This is an excellent way of tracking your spending habits, but also to be able to see what went wrong if any unexpected issues appear.
Then, you can easily make things clear in case of a charge on a statement is in dispute. This usually takes up to 90 days to be resolved and a statement should speed things up a bit.
Also, there are situations in which credit cards provide extended warranties on some purchases. Keeping the statement is a proof of purchase and if your credit card grants one more year of warranty, it’s a great idea to keep hold of it.
Finally, we should mention that some credit cards provide return protection for specific purchases, as long as you have the credit card statements.
