On Friday, I had the opportunity to participate in a panel discussion about women in finance, which will appear next week, for Ramit Sethi’s I Will Teach You To Be Reach site and blog.  One of my fellow panelists was Michelle Goodman, a workplace expert and the author of The Anti 9-to-5 Guide.  After checking out Michelle’s blog, I decided to highlight one of her posts here.  I thought her advice on how long to save financial records was extremely helpful, because when it comes to keeping paperwork around, most people are either obsessive packrats (i.e. my husband) or obsessive recyclers (i.e. me).  Here’s what Michelle says you should save:

• All of your previous income tax returns. If you’re making a big purchase – say a home – the bank will likely want to see several years of these.
• At least seven years of rental agreements, utility bills, credit card annual statements, expense receipts, and anything else that can be deducted as a business write-off.
• Annual retirement fund and social security statements.

Michelle also suggests checking out this chart from Bankrate.  I just printed off a copy for myself, as it tells you how long you should keep every kind of record, from canceled checks to paycheck stubs.  Also, when in doubt, ask your accountant or financial planner.