We provide this free financial resource to visitors of the Community Room of SeniorSSuperStoreS in an effort to keep baby boomers, seniors and the elderly informed of matters that can affect their lifestyle.

An annual ritual for Americans is rounding up their tax records and data in order to "fess up and pay up" to Uncle Sam. While we're sweating these chores is a good time to organize our financial records and determine what we have, what we can get rid of, and what we should keep.

The first step in this process is to find out what we have on hand. Look into the different "filing systems" we maintain: dresser drawers, kitchen drawers, kitchen cabinets, cupboards, desks, filing cabinets, under desks, lock boxes, safe deposit boxes, cookie jars and under mattresses (or so it seems!)

Next, use this set of guidelines to organize what you need to keep and where to find it. The result will be that you can then identify what you don't need to keep.

Use a home filing cabinet to store both temporarily and permanently.

1.) Temporary files: Designate a section, drawer or set of folders in the cabinet to be used to organize what needs to be paid and when it needs to be paid.

a.) Put all monthly bills and stuff that comes in the mail that ultimately need our attention in this area.

b.) As you pull out the bills and give necessary attention to the other matters there, sort them out regularly into those items that must be kept for tax purposes, those that need to be kept for other financial purposes, and those that can be safely discarded.

c.) The records you need for tax purposes should remain in that temporary file section of the filing cabinet until you finish your tax return for the year. When finished with the return, you may discard the records that you didn't actually need in that process.

2.) Permanent files:

a.) Store those records you used to prepare the return with a copy of the return in the "permanent" section of the filing cabinet. Income tax returns and those supporting documents should be retained for at least 3 years after you've filed with the IRS and state in case you're audited.

b.) Some experts recommend that you keep a copy of your return permanently, and not just for the minimum 3 years. That is a personal choice. There are many reasons beyond the scope of this discussion to keep tax returns permanently (such as to prove your income, for divorce and support purposes, for business and investment research purposes, etc.).

c.) Also keep in the permanent files all documents that are used in determining the cost of an asset. Records of stock purchases and stock transactions are critical in determining the cost basis for tax purposes when you sell the shares.

d.) Photocopies of the deeds to your property, closing papers for the purchase of your property, major improvements and additions to your property, titles to your cars, life insurance policies, birth certificates, naturalization papers, marriage and divorce documents, adoption papers, and death certificates. (While you want to maintain the originals of these records in a safe deposit box, you may want ready access to such at home. Thus, keep copies here, and note that they are copies and where the originals are located.)

e.) Copies of wills, trust documents, general power of attorney, life support directives, health care power of attorney and similar legal documents.

f.) Receipts for major home improvements and additions which add to the value of your home. These documents should be kept as long as you keep the assets, and then for at least 3 years for tax-supporting purposes.

g.) Insurance policies should be kept as long as they're in force. (Remember that life insurance policies' originals belong in the safe deposit box.) Warranties should be held as long as they're in force or until you dispose of the product.

h.) Save canceled child support, or other support, checks as proof of payment, especially if you've gone through a messy domestic situation.

3.) Safe deposit box at a bank:

a.)This is the place for the originals of all those documents that are hard to replace, such as birth certificates, naturalization papers, marriage and divorce documents, adoption papers, and death certificates.

b.) Originals of home (and other real estate) purchase records and major improvements and additions, deeds to real estate, titles to cars.

c.) Securities and bonds, if they were provided to you in paper form when you purchased them.

d.) A video-taped inventory of you household goods and content of your home, just in case you might need them for filing an insurance claim. It's not a good idea to keep the only copy of such a tape in your home because you need to store this in a fireproof location.

4.) With your attorney: Originals of wills, trust documents, general power of attorney, life support directives, health care power of attorney and similar legal documents should be maintained by your lawyer.

5.) Finally, what can be destroyed? Practically everything not mentioned above!

a.) What about credit card statements? Once you've made sure all the charges are valid per your statement, you can discard the individual receipts unless you think you'll need them for tax purposes. Keep the statements until you file your tax return for the year, and then get rid of them, too.

b.) ATM receipts and bank deposit slips can be tossed after you reconcile your bank statement for that month. It's a good idea to keep your statements and canceled checks until you finish your tax return for that year just in case you need the canceled checks for tax purposes.

c.) Household expense records, such as utility bills,etc., can be disposed of anytime after they're paid; however, you may want to keep them until the end of the year so that you can dispose of all of the year's unneeded stuff at one time. Include pay stubs in this category (after you're sure that your W-2 agrees with them).

d.) Brokerage account, mutual fund, retirement account statements usually are summarized on the year-end statement. Thus, the year-end statement would be the one to keep with your tax records for the year, meaning that the interim statements through the year may be disposed of after you complete your tax return.

e.) How you destroy items through the year, and especially at year end is important. In order to protect yourself and your identity from "dumpster divers" and others who would love to get their hands on credit card and social security number information, it's imperative that you completely destroy sensitive records. Either tear them to shreds, or ideally, buy an inexpensive shredder and put it to good use!

Using these guidelines, you can rid yourself of the paper clutter that accumulates in every household and make your record-keeping easier and more organized.