Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Shred Day

It's tax season.  A lot of people combine file cabinet clean-out with tax preparation. If you are one of those people, or if you need an excuse to clean out your files, I have good news: the days of free shred events are upon us.

Before we jump to where you can get your papers shredded for free, let's talk about what to shred. There are three guiding principles that I follow for shredding:

  • If the information can be used to steal from me or it can be used to steal my identity, then shredding is a must.
  • If the information is confidential, then shredding is a must.
  • When in doubt, shred.
Examples of information that is covered by the first principle include: anything with your social security number, anything that contains investment, credit card, and bank account numbers, copies of your old passports or driver's license, old credit reports, credit card and loan offers, and anything with passwords.

Examples of information that is covered by the second principle are old medical records, old phone lists, old legal papers, transcripts, resumes, and anything that would embarrass me if someone else found it.

Typically, I don't feel the need to shred anything that can be easily obtained by the public. For instance, I don't shred the address labels on my magazines or non-financial junk mail (I do shred the credit card offers).

I collect items to shred in cardboard boxes. Printer paper and banker's boxes are the right size for easy handling and I can just leave them with the shredder.

Grab your calendar and record the upcoming free shred days. Usually shredding is limited to one box, but sometimes you can shred up to three boxes.

04/06/13  9 AM - noon  Scott Credit Union at 1100 Beltline Road in Collinsville, IL

04/06/13  8:30 AM - 1 PM  Eagle Bank at 1052 Kirkwood Road in Kirkwood, MO

04/13/13  9 AM - noon  First Community Credit Union at 4566 Lemay Ferry in St. Louis, MO

04/13/13  9 AM - noon  First Community Credit Union at 2651 Old Muegge Road in St. Charles, MO

04/13/13  9 AM - noon  First Community Credit Union at 801 Lincoln in Fairview Heights, IL

04/13/13  9 AM - noon  First Community Credit Union at 17151 Chesterfield Airport Road in Chesterfield, MO

04/20/13  9 AM - noon  Ameriprise Financial at 825 Maryville Center Dr in Creve Coeur, MO

04/20/13  9 AM - noon  Coldwell Banker Gundaker at 6235 Mid-Rivers Mall Drive in St. Peters, MO

04/20/13  9 AM - noon  St. Vincent Community Center at 7335 St. Charles Rock Road in St. Louis, MO

04/20/13 8 AM - noon  Galleria parking lot (BBB event) in Richmond Heights, MO

04/27/13  9 AM - noon  Vantage Credit Union at 4020 Fee Fee Road in Bridgeton, MO

04/27/13  10 AM - 1 PM  Neighbors Credit Union at 6300 Lindbergh Blvd. in St. Louis, MO

04/27/13  9 AM - noon  West Community Credit Union at 2345 S. Brentwood Blvd. in Brentwood,  MO

05/04/13  9 AM - noon  American Eagle Credit Union at 1075 N. US Highway 67 in Florissant, MO

05/04/13  9 AM - noon  American Eagle Credit Union at 3805 Union in St. Louis, MO

05/04/13  9 AM - noon  American Eagle Credit Union at 2175 Barrett Station Road in Des Peres, MO

05/04/13  9 AM - noon  American Eagle Credit Union at 1334 Jeffco Blvd. in Arnold, MO

05/04/13  9 AM - noon  Eagle Credit Union at  3944 Vogel Rd in Arnold, MO









2 comments:

Ruby said...

It’s great that there’s a growing number of companies that offer free shredding days, especially around tax season, where paperwork that I probably won’t need or use again just piles up in the office or at home. And yes, not everything needs to be shredded. Some of those papers could just go directly to the recycling bin, or maybe for wrapping if they’re big enough.


Ruby Badcoe

Unknown said...

I agree with you Ruby, it is great that there are free shred days. I hope more people take advantage of them.