Do you Download And Store All Of Your Bank Statements?

acadapter | Oct 2, 2023 | 296 posts since 2018

I've never actually done this, I usually just download a few that I need and that's it. Most banks just keep up to 7 years worth of statements before it is deleted. I've been thinking about downloading all of my bank statements from all banks than storing them on my local hard drive and possibly the cloud.

Thoughts?

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Answers

JeffinEasternFL | Oct 2, 2023 | 744 posts since 2020

Why? I keep the latest (as long as it's correct and forget the rest...

choice1 | Oct 2, 2023 | 370 posts since 2023

Not a simple Q…and one answer does not fit all.

For example for Medicaid qualification for home care in which state or tax purposes? Or?

Let me respond to you on a broader Q: Assume colleagues have a lot of cash …is that traceable to explain…? Are records for possible home sales after many years? On and on

I scan and retain too many records…but a certain Senator had some gold bars that are interesting!

And I have a sole proprietorship…every retiree needs that!

Ltssharon | Oct 15, 2023 | 471 posts since 2020

what is sole proprietorship, and now that I am retired why do I need one, and how do I get it and what do I do with it? I do not own a business.

acadapter | Oct 2, 2023 | 296 posts since 2018

I guess it would be for record keeping and just in case type of thing. You never know you might need them,maybe might get audited by IRS.

GH1 | Oct 2, 2023 | 1,053 posts since 2017

Electronic records should go back 7 years, Thats all you would ever need

betaguy | Oct 2, 2023 | 180 posts since 2022

yes.

(extra words to satisfy the message quota)

acadapter | Oct 2, 2023 | 296 posts since 2018

My thing is I have quite a few bank accounts, so I would have go through each one and download, categorize,etc all of them.

betaguy | Oct 2, 2023 | 180 posts since 2022

As do I. It is a pain in the ass. I just try to do the best I can with enough evidence to protect myself. Ask yourself, why do the banks make it so difficult to get your statements? Why dont they just email them to you? As it stands, there is no real "paper trail" other than "your statement is ready to download".

Kaight | Oct 2, 2023 | 1,192 posts since 2011

I do a VERY poor job on this. What I'm hoping is that I won't live to regret it.

I do download and store some statements sometimes. It is PITA doing so. And I've never been snakebit owing to such sloth. Yet.

But:

I believe it is inevitable the day will come when there is comeuppance for those like me who rely on the internet. Of course I have no clue when that will be. With luck the doomsday scenario I anticipate will manifest after I am in the ground.

Ratesaver | Oct 2, 2023 | 187 posts since 2013

I would keep about a yr or 1 and a half yrs . Hopefully I will never need them but ii is better being safe thay sorry.

Ltssharon | Oct 2, 2023 | 471 posts since 2020

I don’t know about scanning and downloading, I keep the latest statement. I have to pay vanguard fidelity and Schwab to send me paper copies. Hmm now that I think about it, I save the 1099s each year. That could potentially be helpful. Good question.

111 | Oct 2, 2023 | 672 posts since 2019

I download and keep all statements - bank statements, brokerage, credit cards, bills, etc. If it was still all paper I'd be in one of those "hoarders gone wild" shows you used to see, and a fire hazard or silverfish rancher as well. But they're stored as itty-bitty electrons, so I'm OK with it.

My rationale (rationalization?) is that the bare minimum I'm going to do for each account each month is access the website, look for any "alerts" I haven't seen already, download the statement, compare the ending balance of the last statement with the beginning of this one, and review the line items. So I figure, how much more effort is it to just rename the file to something that sorts easily if needed (e.g., "2023 09.pdf") and keep it in the Windows folder for that bank or other institution, along with all the previous statements? Doesn't take much more time. There have been a few situations over the years where this came in handy.

I also have an automated encrypted weekly backup to both another local drive and a Google cloud account.

happyharold4 | Oct 2, 2023 | 388 posts since 2022

I do one per year per account just to have in writing proof that I actually do have that said account with that FI---Think of FI's like Raisin, Primis etc---Be foolish to not have something tangible.

betaguy | Oct 3, 2023 | 180 posts since 2022

I think it's a misconception to think that a *.pdf file that you created locally onto your computer would constitute proof. I could make my or anyone else's statement say whatever I want.

That said, I don't know what internal data is available inside the pdf file to prove if it was downloaded from the banks servers and/or if it had been altered.

happyharold4 | Oct 3, 2023 | 388 posts since 2022

I think you are taking it into a deeper/darker hole than necessary.

Ally6770 | Oct 5, 2023 | 4,290 posts since 2010

Because of my age and I am a widow, I have my statements mailed to me incase I forget to put copy of the accounts in my notebook and in the children' notebooks and I keep a copy of the statements, the signature card and a copy of the beneficiary in the file also and the 3 notebooks. If I forget and I die the accounts are in my 4 drawer file also with a copy of the signature card and of the beneficiaries. I had a credit union lose their copy of the beneficiaries, the signature card on one of my husband's IRA's that I opened for him as POA and as a spousal IRA, but I had a copy in my file when my husband passed. I disclaimed his IRA's so the children would inherit all of them. This was the only credit union out of 10 that lost the papers. I had to go to NCUA. I had been POA since 1995 and this was 2012. I always get a copy of the signature card and a copy of the beneficiaries when I open any accounts for myself or when I did it for my husband and even for the children when I open accounts for them since the 1960's. I always have been very risk adverse since I opened my first christmas club account in 1st grade in 1949.

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