Receipts: Keep them or throw them?

@sweet_pea (3322)

Philippines

April 4, 2011 10:18pm CST

What do you do with receipts of your purchases after you get them from the cashier? Do you just look at it then throw it or you just leave it at the counter? Or do you keep them in your wallet until they just pile up? Have you found any other use for them? For me I only keep the following receipts: medicines - because they are reimbursable to my company. credit card receipts - because I can exchange them for freebies. purchases with warranties - so I can still exchange products if I see something wrong with them. grocery receipts (sometimes)- to compare prices And the rest goes to the bin. Oh, I remember I used to collect receipts to join a local government incentive program where you get cash prizes for your receipts. You join and send through SMS some details required on your receipts and they will electronically raffle it weekly. Unfortunately, I think I am not lucky with this things. I never won, so I stopped.

9 people like this

31 responses

@SIMPLYD (90722)

• Philippines

5 Apr 11

Just like you , i keep those receipts for their respective uses. I keep them all and have them entered at Premyo Sa Recibo, if that was what you formerly joined.

But i don't keep them anymore in my wallet because they make my wallet bulge.

Instead, i place them in two small boxes at home. One for those warranties and credit cards. Although now it's my practice to throw those credit card receipts, once i have seen them already in my statement. The other box is for those entered at PSR. I would eventually throw them, once the scheduled grand raffle is over and start again with a new batch. I guess, i am sticking to the PSR. Maybe one day, i will finally win! Well, i am still praying as always , that i will.

3 people like this

@sweet_pea (3322)

• Philippines

5 Apr 11

Yeah you are right Simply D! I also joined that one too. But I guess, I am not that patient. I just give up!

I wish you a luck though. Don't you get the freebies with your credit card receipts? Sometimes I get a free starbucks with them or a free meal depending on what credit card am I using.

@SIMPLYD (90722)

• Philippines

5 Apr 11

I seldom use my credit card anymore. I decided that i could save more, if i buy in cash so i don't get those freebies.

@sweet_pea (3322)

• Philippines

5 Apr 11

You are right there Simply D! Saves you also from going into debt. Keep it up!

@ShepherdSpy (8544)

• Omagh, Northern Ireland

5 Apr 11

Sounds as though you've got the right balance there..Keep the ones that would have relevance to a warranty or something you'd want to get back to,and destroy the rest.Unless of course,you might need to hold onto them for filling out tax returns,or something..

2 people like this

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@ShepherdSpy (8544)

• Omagh, Northern Ireland

5 Apr 11

I don't really have much of a system,nothing itemised or anything,Just holding on to those that would be of some use to Me in the future,or keeping those that would be of value in an ID theft situation until I could destroy them.

@sweet_pea (3322)

• Philippines

5 Apr 11

Thanks Shepherd Spy. I just don't want too many useless clutter that's why. However, before I disposed them I make sure that I don't have any use for them already. How about you what do you do with your receipts?

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@dreamy1 (3811)

• United States

5 Apr 11

I keep them in my wallet for a while then eventually I throw them out. It depends on what it's for. If it's for an electronic item or something big I keep them in case I have to take it back. But if I've had the item for a while I will eventually throw the receipt out but I keep them longer than say if I just buy food or something small.

2 people like this

@sweet_pea (3322)

• Philippines

5 Apr 11

I think it is wise to keep the warranty card and receipts of electronic items that we bought. It saves us the cost of having it seen by a technician if we find something wrong with it. We can always have them replaced if we found them defective.

@vicky30 (4766)

• India

5 Apr 11

When i receive receipts from the cashier i will first dump it into my pocket

.Then i will take it out at home and see if there is any item which has its warranty mentioned on the receipt,then i will keep it safely in my purse.I will take a look at the other receipts to see if there are any errors in the bill. Some shops ask us to retain the receipt so that next time they will give us additional discount when we purchase items from their shop.Sometimes i have receipts piled up in my wallet and when it becomes heavy i throw the unwanted receipts in the dustbin.

2 people like this

@sweet_pea (3322)

• Philippines

5 Apr 11

There are a lot of promos that grocery stores do now that would just promote customer loyalty. Mine has this advantage card that you can use your points to pay for items that you bought within the store. Sometimes, you get a special prize after buying from them. You just have to show your receipts.

hardworkinggurl

@hardworkinggurl (37063)

• United States

5 Apr 11

I have a tendency to keep them for a while and then do a clean up because I can't find anything in my purse. There are certain ones I do keep because they are tax deductible. I do have a small binder I keep them in by month and year. At the end of tax season I only keep the ones that may be deductible. But outside of that I may keep some in case of returns but I try to pitch as many as I can because it can be a jungle in my purse. lol

2 people like this

@sweet_pea (3322)

• Philippines

5 Apr 11

You seem to have a way of organizing things HWG! I often stashed my bus tickets in my purse that when I get my fare, I have to go through it and determine which is a paper bill and a bus ticket.

@chinchoy (191)

• Hong Kong

5 Apr 11

As you have pointed out yourself, there are many reasons that you would want to keep those receipts instead of leaving them at the counter. I have make it a habit to tuck all of them away in the wallet and clean them out once a while. The trouble is that most of the time, my wallet gets so bulky (LOL not because of the money) that it becomes too big to fit into my pocket, and the wallet also wears out sooner. I know I need to empty it more frequently. Also, if you paid by credit card, sometimes the number is shown on the invoice which may not be a good thing if someone collect them for illegal deeds.

2 people like this

@sweet_pea (3322)

• Philippines

5 Apr 11

I agree! I also wish those bus tickets I stash on my purse would turn into paper bills.

I usually am careful throwing things in the bin, if it contains sensitive information about us, I usually tear them into pieces then off to the bin it goes.

@GardenGerty (157494)

• United States

5 Apr 11

I save them for awhile, and then I clean them out. I save the receipts from Wal Mart in case I have to return or exchange something. Once I am sure I will not have to do that, I trash them. It can get to be a mess otherwise. We always save our most current receipt from our grocery store because we monitor our points to save money on fuel.

2 people like this

returns with receipts

@sweet_pea (3322)

• Philippines

5 Apr 11

It is a good strategy for grocery stores to have those kind of promos to keep customers from continuously patronizing them. My local grocery store have this value card where we get to earn points and you can use them to pay for your purchases. Sounds like a good deal to me.

@melanie652 (2524)

• United States

5 Apr 11

I keep my receipts until I see them clear on my bank statement. After that I throw most of them away. I do keep the receipts for car repairs and home repairs. We usually buy the car parts (alternator, master cylinder, etc) with the lifetime warranty and if the part goes bad you must have your receipt along with the bad part to get credit from the parts store.

1 person likes this

@sweet_pea (3322)

• Philippines

6 Apr 11

Yeah we must keep those receipts for warranty purposes. Otherwise, we might be spending for more when we can have them for free if we only have those receipts. They usually don't replace it without the receipts.

@lordwarwizard (35747)

• Singapore

5 Apr 11

Hi sweet pea, For me, I normally hoard my receipts till they overflow like an avalanche before I realize how a tad silly I might have been. Usually, I will keep only the credit card receipts which are actually quite a handful since I seem to make so many purchases. And now, my current mountain of receipts have overflowed so I am procrastinating till I can "find time" to clear them to... maybe keep those that really need to be kept - such as for electrical appliances which require proof of receipt for warranty matters, etc. Cheers and have a good day! :)

1 person likes this

@sweet_pea (3322)

• Philippines

6 Apr 11

What I do with receipts I try to segregate them so I don't have to go through the pile of receipts. Specially with appliances that have warranties. I kept all of them in an envelope and put label on it. So when I need them I can easily see them and not go through all receipts looking for them. Saves the time for me. Other than that, most of the receipts I use if I don't need them, I just throw them instantly.

@shaggin (71659)

• United States

5 Apr 11

If the receipt only has food items then I throw it out as I wont be returning food. If it has clothes or other items on it I keep it until I have used the items on the receipt after that there is no point keeping the receipt unless it goes to something I have a warranty on.

1 person likes this

@sweet_pea (3322)

• Philippines

6 Apr 11

Like you, food item receipts are usually disposed off immediately. We usually keep the receipts of non-food items for a while or about a week before we dispose them since the store usually gives us 7 days to have the item returned for replacement if we find something wrong with it.

@mermaidivy (15395)

• United States

5 Apr 11

I usually keep the receipt when I purchase some electronics, gear some big things. But I just throw away the grocery store ones. There is usual;ly a survery they want you to fill out after purchasing, if you do that, you will be entered to draw a 500/5000 dollars gift card something like that here. I alawys like to do that with the store that I liek tos hop but sure enough, I never win, I wonder if it actually exists, maybe it is just a trick to get people comments.

1 person likes this

@sweet_pea (3322)

• Philippines

6 Apr 11

It is a good thing to keep receipts with warranty, since we can use them if the item is defective. We don't have to pay for additional cost for their servicing. Yeah some store give out raffle coupons when you present your receipts. Unfortunately, just like you , I don't have such luck with these raffles.

@eurekafemme (5877)

• Philippines

5 Apr 11

Hello, Sweet_pea.:) I think I know what government program was that. Like you, my husband was very diligent in sending the SMS to the BIR but then he gave up because he was never lucky to bag a prize.

I do keep some of the receipts but sometimes I tend to forget about them. but, I do not leave them on the counter, I took it home with me, check my purchase and then throw them away. I do not compare prices because my husband is a solid SM shopper because he wanted to maximize the use of his advantage card. Plus we use CC for shopping. We pay everything online so there's not much receipt on hand to keep. I just kept those receipts for appliances purchased or repaired for warranty purposes. After the waranty had expired, they all go to the bin as well...

1 person likes this

@sweet_pea (3322)

• Philippines

5 Apr 11

Hi Eureka! Yes you are right! I joined that too but I wasn't really patient with it so I just stopped!

When we do our groceries my husband has the habit of going over the list to check if there are items that were punched that we didn't purchased. And at one instance, this habit had been useful. The cashier had punched an item twice. So we were able to have it corrected before we left the counter. I usually collect our grocery receipts so I can check if we had gone over our food budget for the month. I usually list it in my book then just throw it away.

@sender621 (14894)

• United States

5 Apr 11

I hang onto receipts until I am sure there usefulness has expired. then i will gladly throw them away. it is such a waste to hang onto receipts without needing to.

1 person likes this

@sweet_pea (3322)

• Philippines

6 Apr 11

Yeah, it helps minimize clutter at home.

@kanganong (39)

• Indonesia

5 Apr 11

receipts is very important for me to check whether the goods we take home are same with the goods we buy. do not ever leave the cashier before you go home. always double check of goods that we buy. another purpose of the receipts are as my reference in the purchase of goods next month. so i will keep them

1 person likes this

@sweet_pea (3322)

• Philippines

5 Apr 11

Hi Kanganong! Welcome to Mylot! My husband has that habit of checking things before leaving the counter. And it serves him right at one instance the cashier had punched an item twice. So we were able to have it corrected before we left the counter. I usually collect our grocery receipts too so I can check if we had gone over our food budget for the month. It is a indeed a good basis for your purchases the next months.

3SnuggleBunnies

@3SnuggleBunnies (16374)

• United States

5 Apr 11

I usually keep all my slips except for my grocery slips. Then in time I'll throw the rest out unless they are for big things like repairs to car or home. Plus you have to go thru them eventually they clutter up your wallet/purse sooo fast.

1 person likes this

@sweet_pea (3322)

• Philippines

5 Apr 11

Yeah, I agree. They take much space on your wallet, although how I wish it is money that I see cluttering my wallet and not just papers!

@AndrewFreyne (6281)

• United Kingdom

20 Apr 11

I think it's good to throw receipts away but not before you have recorded any receipt expenditure into some kind of spreadsheet program so that I know what I have spent exactly, this is what I do on a regular basis. Although I have to mention, I only do this for things I purchase. I don't do this for grocery bills. If I did I would be entering information into my log on a daily basis! I've not found any other use for receipts other than to roll them into tiny little balls and subsequently turning them into flying missiles as I aim for the rubbish bin! Perhaps there are other uses but I won't go there! Andrew

@sweet_pea (3322)

• Philippines

25 Apr 11

Thanks Andrew for sharing! I also keep track of our actual expenses. I usually write it in my notebook. It really helps a lot in handling our finances.

@o0jopak0o (6394)

• Philippines

5 Apr 11

Well I usually throw them out but for those big purchases especially gadgets I usually store them until the warranty is out.

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@pogi253 (1586)

• Philippines

5 Apr 11

Receipts are likely to fall into two categories, those you want to keep at least long enough to double check them against your purchases when you get home and those you want to hold on to for a bit longer. The short-term keepers can be thrown away as soon as you’ve taken care of checking them. I tend to destroy these sorts of receipts, but lots of don’t have any sort of information you really need to worry about.

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@sweet_pea (3322)

• Philippines

5 Apr 11

I am careful when throwing our receipts or bill statements to the bins. If it contains some information about us, I usually tear them into pieces before I throw them in the garbage. Well you really can't be sure about people who might try to use it.

@katie0 (5203)

• Japan

5 Apr 11

It's good to keep those for a year, that saved my life once. My family was trying to pay for an apartament, almost a year later the owner enterprise sent me a letter saying I didn't pay a particular bill. I freaked out, you imagine how much it must be each month, if it wasn't paid we would paid a very higher price with all the percentage they wold put after one year. Turns out that as I had that I was saved. Until I find I was freaked. It happened again with a eletrecity bill, it was a computer mistake I hope. I heard that to keep one year of all receipts is great. Now about grocery shopping it's good cause we can sum everything and know about all incomes and expended money.

1 person likes this

@sweet_pea (3322)

• Philippines

5 Apr 11

Hi Katie! My family are currently renting as well and ever since I keep all the receipts with me. Be it rent, water and electric bills. I had a 2 month deposit with my landlord and we will not be able to get it when our contract ends with them, if we have some unsettled bills. So I make sure that I file all our bills and rent payments.

@axlrate7 (1398)

• Philippines

5 Apr 11

I never thought that there's a use in receipt. Thank you for your tips, I actually only used any receipt for my programming study. Anyway... nice discussion, GOD BLESS YOu!!! =)

1 person likes this

@sweet_pea (3322)

• Philippines

6 Apr 11

Thanks axlrate! Glad you learned something today. Actually you can also use billing statements when you apply for credit cards or bank accounts.

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