How long do you keep utility bills for?

I am pretty sure I have boxes in the closet containing bills from the first year we lived in this apartment. I moved here in 2002. Time for me to buy a shredder and start getting rid of this junk!

I keep mine also, but I would not know right of hand where to find them. I am one of the most unorganized people when it comes to paperwork. I have utility bills, medical insurance for my handicap son, education papers for him also, any agency paperwork that goes with his things. I really need to find a good way of organizing, because I would have to sort through all the papers to find what I want to dispute or prove. I just have piles and piles of papers, most in folders, just not sorted.

I keep all my utility bills for at least 3-5 years. You might think this a long time to keep something. I had a aunt that had something come back after 4 years saying she owed money, luckily she kept receipts so they had to apoligise to her. I currently use a shoe box to keep all my bills and receipts in stating that the bill was paid. I keep all bank statements, pay stubs. I even keep all credit card receipts until the bill is paid for and then I shred them.

Well, we own our own house, and have been living here for nearly 20 yeasr, so that doesn't really apply to me. I tend to keep my bills for 12 months, and them go through them, and chuck them away. I think it is quite useful to compare what I have spent in the same quarter as last year if that makes sense.

If it qualifies you as a pack rat then we can be pack rats together because I do the same thing lol. Everytime a bill comes in and then gets paid I always file it away "just in case..."

We've kept all our bills for years and now we're buried under mounds of paper. It's really overwhelming! But I did some research and found that you can shred most bills (other than mortgage and tax statements) after 12 months, or even less if you have them online through the creditor. So my husband and I are currently starting the process of cleaning things out. I can totally relate to you though - in the back of my head I still wonder "what if we need proof" of a mixup, a payment, etc. Hopefully we can both get over this packrat-itis!

The longest time that I will keep the utility bills is one year. After that, I'd throw them away, if not I'll have lots of things piled up taking up precious space on the shelves.

i keep old utility bills for one year. when i do my taxes i empty all of the previous bills in the trash. i guess i keep them for peace of mind more than anything. so i know i paid the bill and i put what check number or conformation number if i do it via internet so if there is any questions as to if the bill was paid i have my own proof and now exactly what to get to prove my bill paid.

I've switched to paperless billing on most of my bills so as to avoid all the paper in my file box. I keep my cc statements for the current month only. My checking/saving statements I keep for a year and then after filing taxes, I shred em all and start over again. I do, however, keep my tax papers forever, just in case I'm ever audited. I make sure I follow the rules so the IRS doesn't find anything to start an audit but never know...

I was taught to keep records and documents for 7 years. I'm not sure if that was to apply to anything else aside from taxes, but I assume if you use it to prepare your taxes, you should keep it as long as the return you used it for. Otherwise, I purchased a small paperport scanner and use it to save all of my bills and documents on my computer. That way I don't have to worry about a mass of paper piling up!