Well, the de-clutter thread is going again, this time with ten exclamation points. I've been doing my taxes, and I'm here to tell you not to go overboard when 'decluttering' your financial papers.

It seems like a good idea to practice a 'buy and hold' philosophy when you make investments or save for retirement. Trouble is, nobody tells you that if BUY the investment, you need to HOLD onto the record of it. Someday you will probably sell, and you need to know how much you paid for it. And you also need to know how much may have been reinvested in it over the years.

I just spent an awful four hours tracking down the cost of something I had bought in 1997. The fund had merged with four other entities and changed its name over time. If I had not saved certain financial records since 1997, I would have been reporting $29,000 of income with no expense to offset it. (Yes, I asked the broker, and they were no help.)

Pay no attention to those well-meaning people in the magazines who tell you to throw away your tax returns after three years. A lawyer once told me to keep my tax returns forever, and he was right. You may need to them to show what you've paid for your house, where your IRA came from, and what capital gains and divvies have gone back into your investments. Don't just keep the 1040, keep the 1099's, etc, that provide investment information.

All these records will probably fill one box, which you can keep under your bed. You will sleep better knowing it's there.