Free Paper Shredding - Perks from Local Banks & Credit Unions

Last week my local credit union had a free shred day. As I scan for bank deals, I often run across credit unions and banks advertising a shred day. Shredding old documents like bank account statements and receipts helps prevent identity theft.

I had 2 boxes of documents and receipts with private information. I thought about buying a paper shredder, but in addition to the cost, it would have taken me a long time to feed the papers through the machine. So when I noticed my local credit union advertising a shred day on its home page, I decided to take advantage of the event.

During the shred day, I took my 2 boxes to the credit union. The shredding service company had their truck parked on the side of the credit union building. I just dumped my documents into a plastic can. When the can became full, the shredding service worker closed the can and loaded it into the shredding truck. It was very quick, and no one even checked if I were a member.

You do have to be careful that a stray paper doesn't blow away as you dump your box of documents. It would seem that thieves could exploit these events hoping to take advantage of stray papers.

There may also be concerns about whether the documents were really shredded or were shredded properly. That's one advantage of shredding it yourself. There's no doubt. Nevertheless, I felt pretty confident that this shredding service did a good job.

Free paper shredding isn't a big perk. It's not going to make up for low deposit rates. However, it can save you time and money. Another nice time-saving perk offered by many credit unions is free coin counting. I've used my credit union's self-service coin counting machine several times.

What free perks does your local credit unions and banks offer?