Shredify

07/11/2024

Loyal supporters and valued friends of the Adult Development Center, we need your help!

Our air conditioner for the client break room has chosen this week to take a break and quit on us. As we enter the dog days of summer and insistent heat advisories, it's very unfortunate timing.

The cost for a replacement unit will be around $4,000. If you are able to contribute to our replacement fund in any amount, we would be extremely grateful.

Would you please consider sharing this post even if you are unable to contribute at this time.

Please click the link below to contribute:

By Siloam Springs Adult Development Center Inc

05/31/2024

05/29/2024

The Adult Development Center has a new brochure! Please share it with everyone!

05/15/2024

!!! SCAM ALERT !!!
Watch for emails and texts regarding internships with the Adult Development Center.

04/11/2024

Shout out to one of our Shredify customers...Thank You for the cash donation towards the cost of a new microwave!

07/22/2023

We have a special offer for our regular Shredify customers!

When you refer a friend who has never brought shredding to us before they will receive a special discount.

When they bring in their shredding, they will receive a 10 cent discount off the regular price AND you will receive 10 cents off the regular price on your next visit.

It's a WIN! WIN!

Stop by next week and pick up your REFER A FRIEND card and start saving!

Our regular price starts at 50 cents per pound for up to 50 pounds and only goes down from there!

*Offer applies to household shredding only. Sorry, no commercial shredding.

12/20/2021

We have just a few more item to cover in this final post of "Don't Accumulate. Shred!" Part 3 of 3

Because of the pandemic a lot of people have been working from home, so they have had time to dig thru those drawers, home office files and attics. Bring us those old documents for safe shredding and recycling.

UTILITY BILLS

If you are writing off your utility bills for tax purposes such as a home office, you may need to keep them for up to 3 years after the tax return was filed. However, if you can't write them off, you need only to keep bills from the past 3 months.

MORTGAGE DOCUMENTS

Keep the loan information as long as your mortgage is open. You should keep these documents as long as you own the home and until it is paid in full. After you've paid off the mortgage, the bank is obligated to record a satisfaction of mortgage. After you receive an annual mortgage statement, shred the monthly or quarterly statements. Save mortgage tax forms for 7 years.

WARRANTY DOCUMENTS

Keep warranties until they expire or can no longer be returned or exchanged. Make a file and routinely go thru it to discard warranties on items that you no longer have. Attach your sales receipts to the warranty as some companies will ask you to provide proof of purchase. Shred your warranties and related documents after getting rid of your electronics, appliances, software, etc.

ARE THE RECORDS CONNECTED TO PROPERTY?

Generally, keep records relating to property until the period of limitations expires for the year in which you dispose of the property. You must keep these records to figure any depreciation, amortization, or depletion deduction and to figure the gain or lose when you sell or otherwise dispose of the property.
If you received property in a nontaxable exchange, your basis in that property is the same as the basis of the property you gave up, increased by any money you paid. You must keep the records on the old property, as well as the new property, until the period of limitations expires for the year in which you dispose of the new property.

CREATE A BACKUP SET OF RECORDS AND STORE THEM ELECTRONICALLY

It has been mentioned multiple times throughout these posts about ways to save your records other than letting the paper copies pile up. Consider these options:
*Keeping a set of backup records - including, for example, bank statements, tax returns, insurance policies, etc. - is easier than ever now that many financial institutions provide statements and documents electronically, and much financial information is available on the internet.
*Even if the original records are provided on paper, they can be scanned and converted to a digital format. Once the documents are in electronic form, taxpayers can download them to a backup storage device, such as an external hard drive, or burn them onto a CD or DVD (don't forget to label it!).
*You might also consider online backup, which is the only way to ensure that data is fully protected. With online backup, files are stored in another region of the country, so that if a hurricane or other natural disaster occurs, documents remain safe.
When your records are no longer needed for tax purposes, do not discard them until you check to see if you need to keep them longer for other purposes. For example, your insurance company or creditors may require you to keep them longer than the IRS does.

It has been a pleasure bringing you these segments of "Don't Accumulate. Shred!" We hope you have found some answers to a few questions you may have.

Thank you for reading! Like and share with your friends! Thank you!

12/09/2021

Welcome back to part 2 of 3 "Don't Accumulate. Shred!"

As was said last week, there is that fine line between hoarding and the necessary storing of important documents. Here are some more tips on what to keep and what to shred.

TAX RECORDS

Generally, you must keep your records that support an item of income, deduction, or credit shown on your tax records until the period of limitations for that tax return runs out. The period of limitations is the period of time in which you can amend your tax return to claim credit or refund, or the IRS can assess additional tax. The general rule for tax records is to retain them for 7 years. When you file the new return reach back there and pull the expired one to shred. Federal law requires you to maintain copies of your tax returns and supporting documents for 3 years. This is called the "three year law" and leads many people to believe they're safe provided they retain their documents for this period of time. The IRS has 3 years to audit you from the date you file your taxes and it is up to you to have all the backup information that went into the preparation of your returns.
However, if the IRS believes you have significantly underreported your income (by 25 percent or more), or believed there may be an indication of fraud, it may go back 6 years in an audit. If you don't file a tax return at all, there is no statute of limitations.
Occasionally check your My Social Security account at ssa.gov before shredding, so you have backup to fix your earnings record of Social Security has it wrong

MEDICAL INSURANCE AND INFORMATION

Err on the side of caution here. Retain all test results ( such as blood workups and X-rays indefinitely.) Normal or not, the information may be useful in your own clinical care or research. Particularly important are surgical reports, hospital summaries and treatment plans for major illnesses. Put these in a secure cloud-based account or password protected folder on your computer, this way you can easily share them with future health care providers. Keep immunization and vaccination records permanently, too - you may need them for certain jobs or for traveling abroad. This includes your premium statements, doctor bills, prescriptions, hospital bills, etc. Keep these for 5 years from date of service.
You may also need them to claim anything costs such as write-offs. Save unpaid bills until they are paid in full, then save the final proof of payment 1 year.

HOME INSURANCE

Generally a home warranty is good for 1 year. The minimum time suggested is 5 years, though it may be prudent to wait 10 years before discarding it.

PAY STUBS

Many people save these but it is not a good idea...just one page contains everything an identity theft needs to compromise yourself and your finances. Because each paycheck contains the history of all past stubs, it is not necessary to keep any stub except for the most recent. The exception is if you are planning to apply for a mortgage, which usually requires 3 months worth of pay stubs. You can get rid of them once you have compared the totals to your W-2 & annual social security statement. However, if you were affected by a wage garnishment, you need to keep those stubs for at least 6 years.

INVESTMENT DOCUMENTS

If you have an IRA, 401K, or any other investments then you are likely inundated with prospectus, privacy notices, address confirmations, and so on. Do not keep any of these documents unless you plan to act on them. Public companies also ask you to vote for the board of directors and special measures once a year. Unless you own a significant amount of stock or have a strong opinion, you may wish to save the postage and just shred the vote card. You should retain 3 months if balance statements and, following a new investment, retain purchase records until you liquidate and file taxes. Quarterly investment statements should be held until you get your annual statement. Annual investment statements should be held for 3 years after you sell your investment.

HOME REPAIRS

These should be kept for 10 years in case you need to prove something with regard to guarantees of workmanship if a new buyer should want confirmation. If you are renovating, make sure you get the satisfaction of lien from your contractor(s). Keep these documents as long as you own the property (they may prove useful during resale). Proof of spending can sometimes be used to lower you taxes.

Part 3 will be coming soon.

Thank you!

Official website of the U.S. Social Security Administration.

11/27/2021

Welcome back to "Don't Accumulate. Shred!" PART 1 of 3

What to keep and for how long versus what to shred is a topic that is widely varied. The length of time you should keep a document depends on the action, expense, or event which the document records. Will I need them in case of an audit? Are they tied to property that I own? Is there a warranty involved? Practically every website you check from IRS.gov to suzeorman.com suggests a different length of time in which to keep a wide range of documents. The best is to look at your individual tax situation to determine which would be best for you. Lots of factors need to be taken into consideration. If you own a business, there are lots of rules that need to be looked into before any records are discarded. And with that fine line between keeping and hoarding, hopefully we can help show you where that line is drawn.

ITEMS TO KEEP FOREVER

If it's irreplaceable - like the items listed below - store it in a safe deposit box. Consider scanning the document into your computer so you also have a copy.

Marriage license - Birth Certificates - Wills* - Adoption Papers - Death Certificates - Records of Paid Mortgages - Baptism and Confirmation Certificates - Military Service Records and Discharge Papers - Social Security Cards - Passports** - Professional licenses - Citizenship or Naturalization Records - Legal Case Paperwork and Contracts (divorces, work contracts)

*Make sure a copy of your will is with a trusted family member or that he/she has access to your safe deposit box.
**It's not a bad idea to keep photocopies of your passport in the safe deposit box.

WHAT TO HOLD WHILE ACTIVE

Contracts - Insurance Documents - Stock Certificates - Property Records - Records of Pensions and Retirement Plans - Property Tax Records Disputed Bills (keep the bill until the dispute is resolved) - Home Improvement Records (hold for at least 3 years after the due date for the tax return that included the income or loss on the asset when it's sold) - Life Insurance Policies - Car Titles and Bill of Sale - Trust or Power of Attorney Paperwork - Burial Plot Deeds - Home
Deed and Title Insurance Policy

BANK STATEMENTS

The only reason to keep bank statements is if you are thinking about applying for a mortgage (in which you will only need a 3-month history and could scan them into your computer). Otherwise, the bank has all of your records on file.
If you or your spouse might apply for Medicaid for nursing home care, you'll likely need five years of banking, credit card and brokerage records to prove eligibility. To avoid paying the bank to reproduce those records for you, scan them and keep them in a folder on your computer.
Shred your old canceled checks, since your bank or credit union has copies. If you need your canceled checks for tax purposes, then you need to keep them for 3 years.

ATM RECEIPTS

Keep these until you confirm the balance on your monthly bank statement. Some receipts may include your full account # so make sure they get shredded.

CREDIT CARD STATEMENTS

It is recommended that you keep only 3 months on hand after they have been reconciled and any returns have been credited back to you account then shred them.

CREDIT CARD RECEIPTS

Keep receipts for 1 year if you need them for tax purposes. Request an annual statement and retain for 7 years. Otherwise, shred the receipts after your credit card statement has been reconciled.

SALES RECEIPTS

Keep sales receipts until the product warranty expires or you can no longer return or exchange. Attach your sales receipt to the warranty. If they are needed for tax purposes, keep them for 3 years.

Check back for parts 2 and 3 in the near future! Thanks for reading!

10/26/2021

Welcome back to "Don't Accumulate. Shred!"

Are your desks and filing cabinets beginning to overflow with another year's worth of documents? While it is sensible to hold onto financial records and other documentation of importance, many people allow far too many outdated documents to accumulate. Most are unsure of just how long they should retain these documents.

Allowing these documents to pile up not only makes for clutter and disorganization, but a real financial threat to yourself and/or your business. Identify theft is becoming more and more prevalent and more and more people recognize the problems posed by their confidential documents. However, most are unsure of which documents they should keep and for how long. And, if I shred my own records, how do I dispose of them?

Unfortunately, to make sure that your confidential documents are properly disposed of isn't just a matter of buying a $30 shredder and doing it yourself. Those 6-10 boxes you have stored in the attic are a little too much for a personal shredder. It could overheat and would take months to complete the shred process plus how to dispose of it properly. Most personal shredders make 30 or less vertical cuts and no horizontal or cross-cuts. If these are improperly disposed of, they could end up in the wrong hands and easily reassembled. It could take only a few strips to obtain enough information for identity theft.

Don't allow something as simple as a box of old documents inconvenience your life or affect your financial well-being.

Our next post will address each aspect of financial and personal document regarding what to keep versus what to shred.

Like our page and share this valuable information with your friends.

10/08/2021

Welcome to "Don't Accumulate. Shred!"

If you are unfamiliar with Shredify, here is a little bit about what we do.

We offer shredding services to individuals and business alike. If you want to keep your records tidy and not let them accumulate, bring them to us for secure disposal. Our price schedule is as follows:

1 - 49 lbs. = $.50 per pound
50 - 99 lbs. = $.45 per pound
100 - 149 lbs. = $.40 per pound
150 - 199 lbs. = $.35 per pound
200 - 249 lbs. = $.30 per pound
250 + lbs. = $.25 per pound

**Other shredding services charge upwards of $1.00 per pound!**

We also offer large and small, locked containers for businesses with a monthly contract. Our large bin containers can hold 140 lbs. and the smaller console containers will hold 70 lbs.

With a contract, we pick up your documents monthly, they are locked in bins and brought back to our facility and placed in our shred room for secure shredding. Our shred room is video secure and has limited access with two commercial shredders and dedicated personnel.

If you are interested in a monthly contract, give us a call today and get all the details!

*We are committed to protecting you and your documents.
*All shredded paper is baled and 100% securely recycled in an
environmentally friendly manner.
*No need to remove paper clips, staples, binder clips, hanging
folders, rubber bands...we do that for you!
*Individuals may bring their documents in any container
(cardboard boxes, trash bags etc.). We even recycle
those cardboard boxes!
*Even if you shred our own documents, you can bring the
shredded paper to us and it will be securely recycled.
*CDs, pictures, credit cards and even X-rays will be securely
destroyed.

In the coming months, we will offer some valuable information regarding recordkeeping and storage. What do I keep and what can I shred? How long do I need to keep my documents? All will be revealed! SHARE WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

Our hours of operation are from 8am to 2pm.

Call us at 479-524-5911 to find out more or check us out at

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09/11/2021

Starting on October 2021, we will begin a segment called "Don't Accumulate. Shred!"

* We will post tips on what to keep and what to shred.
* How long to keep tax records, medical records, receipts, invoices etc.
* The threat of identity theft by holding onto those old records.

Follow us for periodic updates!
Share with your friends!

Website @

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