Seriously. What is everybody else doing with their sales receipts?

[Baitball Blogger]

I don't buy large ticket items. Just the usual groceries & drive-thru fare, but damn, those sales receipts collect and before you know it you have such a thick wad of them in your purse that you can't pass an airport security check without getting frisked. (I'm not kidding. This really happened to me.)

So, what system does everybody use with their sales receipts, especially if you use credit cards to pay for just about everything?

[Lars39]

1. Post 'em on Quicken and toss 'em, unless it's for a big ticket item like a tv or something,

then I staple that to the owner's manual.

on edit: actually now for big ticket items I scan them, too, 'cause the receipts fade out to nothing very quickly now.

[RiffRandell]

2. Are you talking about receipts? n/t

[Baitball Blogger]

3. Yes, receipts. I'll correct it.

[RiffRandell]

5. Sorry!

I honestly never heard anyone call them that. They pile up until I finally get sick of having them around and usually toss into the recycling bin or if it's a big ticket (haha) item we file it away.

It's funny---when I moved down south this woman I worked with was always talking about her house note and car note. I finally figured out it was her mortgage and car payment.

[Scuba]

4. Save them all, reconcile expenses to budget ....

... understand variances, revise budget.

Then toss those that have no future use (warranties, returns, taxes, etc.).

[In_The_Wind]

6. I usually only keep receipts if I might need them later . . .

to return something or if it might be replaced/repaired under a warranty.

[img][/img]

[ohiosmith]

8. Me too! Staple em to the manual and warranty.

[In_The_Wind]

9. That works very well.

Nice filing system. [img][/img]

[ohiosmith]

10. Mild OCD has its benefits!

[madinmaryland]

14. I staple my staple's receipts to the board in my office so that I can expense them!!

[Xithras]

7. Scan. Shred. Done.

I wrote my own software for scanning and saving reciepts and documents, but there are several commercial programs that work pretty well.

If you use Quicken to track your finances, the newer versions support direct reciept scanning as well.

[agracie]

11. Save them to compare against the credit card statement. n/t

[hobbit709]

12. Circular File

[hopemountain]

13. i stuff them in a receptacle in my car

or my wallet.
after they have accumulated for awhile, i bring them into the cabin and dump them on the table where i keep my laptop. then, go through them in between slow downloads. i check my card statements with my receipts online about once a month. i only save the ones for large ticket items - and they go in the large ticket item manuals and warranty file drawer. i keep each warranty, manual, and receipt in a gallon size ziplock. saves having to write a bunch of stuff on a manila envelope - the contents of which are unknown without opening.

[csziggy]

15. Stuff them in a box or bag

For large ticket items, I try to staple the receipt into the manual and file the manual. "Try" being the operative word since it doesn't happen as consistently as it should.

Between the end of the year and when I take my info into the accountant, I try to sort through the receipts, toss the irrelevant ones and categorize the ones for deductible expenses.

When I was actively running my business I was religious about entering everything into Quicken and filing the expense receipts. These days I am lazy.

[Phentex]

16. I don't keep them for small tickets items...

the rest go into a folder and then filed later as someone else mentioned, if for a larger item or something I think might need a return or repair somewhere down the line.

Credit card items are really simple because I can track them online and don't need the tiny, faded receipt.

I have considered one of those scanner things but it's not a huge issue for me.

You need an interim dumping ground!

[RILib]

17. Into the recycle bin, unless it's for a major item. n/t

[femmocrat]

18. I save grocery receipts on a nail inside the pantry door.

That probably sounds weird, but there have been times when I wanted to return a grocery item. I have the receipt right at hand that way even if I bought the time a couple of weeks ago.

I save department store receipts in an envelope for each month. I save those "business reply" envelopes that I get in junk mail for that purpose.

[Baitball Blogger]

19. Nice process. I hope the nail is not something you can accidentally back into.

[femmocrat]

20. No, just a little nail on the inside of the door.

Very handy.

[marzipanni]

21. I hope they'll make cash register receipts without BPA soon

Oct. 26, 2011 — Bisphenol A (BPA) -- a substance that may have harmful health effects -- occurs in 94 percent of thermal cash register receipts, scientists are reporting. The recycling of those receipts, they add, is a source of BPA contamination of paper napkins, toilet paper, food packaging and other paper products.



http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111026122406.htm

[rug]

22. I use them to create alibis.

[Kali]

27. !

[whistler162]

23. A little butter and garlic and pan fry them....

or just toss them in the recycling bin when I get home!

[sendero]

24. If it is for less than a hundred dollars..

.. I toss them in the trash. Unless I need it to document a business expense or there is some chance I might need to return it.

I can't remember the last time I needed a grocery, pharmacy or restaurant receipt for any reason.

[840high]

25. Receipts that I might

need I throw into a box in my trunk. Always ready for returns or exchanges.

[Incitatus]

26. Throw them away.

idk why I even bother to take it from the cashier.

[Kali]

28. first step is a big thick clump in my wallet

then a scattered pile on my desk
then stuffed into old envelopes by month
then sorted for relevance on or around April 14th or so

[Kaleva]

29. Look at it later & see that I got charged full price for a package of hot dogs instead of sale price

The sale price was a $1.50 for a 16 oz. package of weiners but I was charged $2.10!

[Baitball Blogger]

32. I hate it when that happens.

Especially when you're moving fast and take something off a sales rack that promises 40% off and when you get home your realize they didn't apply the discount.

[AngryOldDem]

30. I toss them.

Admittedly, there were times when that was a big mistake, but more often than not they're just waste paper cluttering my already cluttered wallet and purse.

[undeterred]

31. I save them.

It goes back to when I had a travelling job and I had to get a receipt for everything - even coffee and a donut - in order to get reimbursed by the company. I found out that it came in handy sometimes to have the receipts for other things a few weeks later.

It helps you keep track of your money if you use it to organize- I just keep all the receipts from a month in an envelope and then I can see how much I've spent on gas, food, and other things.

[Baitball Blogger]

33. It sounds like the envelope idea is the most organized way to go.