How do you destroy old statements and bills?

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tardtasticx

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#148541 22-Jun-2014 23:38

Well this weekend I decided I should probably clean out the old bill box, had about 3 years worth of credit card/phone bills, bank statements and all sorts of other documents I didn't really want to throw in the normal trash.

I don't own a shredder or know anyone who does, so I had to cut it up with scissors until I was comfortable it wasn't usable.

It's probably overkill, but I really would feel sick knowing theres paper out there in the bin with my IRD and bank number on there and everything so I had to do it.

What do you do to old things like this? I considered lighting a fire but we don't own a fireplace and live in a dense neighbourhood so that was out of the question :)

Looking forward to some interesting replies for next time hopefully :D

-Sam

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#1072286 23-Jun-2014 00:10

Shift - delete is what I do , I am amazed you get bank statements and bills sent via Post

Edit: Engrish

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Hammerer

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#1072287 23-Jun-2014 00:14

We use a cross-cut shredder then put the confetti into a compost bin with the grass clippings. We do this for all personal information given the long life of paper in landfills.

P.S. Cost of shredder was under $50 on sale at Dick Smith.

tardtasticx

3075 posts

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#1072289 23-Jun-2014 00:26

johnr: Shift - delete is what I do , I am it amazing you get bank statements and bills sent via Post

I'm stopping them as of now actually :) I haven't had a Telecom one in a while and I don't miss it, plus I noticed ASB has a new thing online where I could download them all in PDF format for 2 years I think?

In all honesty I don't know why I still opt to receive them, I hardly read them anyway.

Coil

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#1072290 23-Jun-2014 00:27

Fire.

With fire.

tardtasticx

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#1072292 23-Jun-2014 00:28

Hammerer: We use a cross-cut shredder then put the confetti into a compost bin with the grass clippings. We do this for all personal information given the long life of paper in landfills.

P.S. Cost of shredder was under $50 on sale at Dick Smith.

I was almost going to buy one actually, but thought about how few times I would use it and couldn't justify buying one for me. Does the paper work well in the compost? Parents would love that I think.

Glassboy

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#1072293 23-Jun-2014 00:35

This might be boring but I take them to work and put them in the document destruction bin.

Coil

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#1072294 23-Jun-2014 00:38

Glassboy: This might be boring but I take them to work and put them in the document destruction bin.

I still dont trust those.

rayonline

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#1072295 23-Jun-2014 00:45

i burn mine ... envelope and pamphlets can be dumped though. 3yrs not that much. i did that before but now i burn them each 6 months.

on a related note - is it ok to receive statements via the email ie - Gmail (attachment). that is what Kiwibank does so if Gmail is hacked they see the whole CC number your name and address.

Coil

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#1072296 23-Jun-2014 00:52

rayonline:

on a related note - is it ok to receive statements via the email ie - Gmail (attachment). that is what Kiwibank does so if Gmail is hacked they see the whole CC number your name and address.

hio77

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#1072298 23-Jun-2014 01:09

rayonline: i burn mine ... envelope and pamphlets can be dumped though. 3yrs not that much. i did that before but now i burn them each 6 months.

on a related note - is it ok to receive statements via the email ie - Gmail (attachment). that is what Kiwibank does so if Gmail is hacked they see the whole CC number your name and address.

suppose this comes down to how security conscious you are..

if you use the same passwords everywhere, and allow all your junk to flood into the same account, may aswell be simply throwing them out in the trash, ild count the risk to be about the same.

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davidcole

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#1072323 23-Jun-2014 07:37

rayonline: i burn mine ... envelope and pamphlets can be dumped though. 3yrs not that much. i did that before but now i burn them each 6 months.

on a related note - is it ok to receive statements via the email ie - Gmail (attachment). that is what Kiwibank does so if Gmail is hacked they see the whole CC number your name and address.

I don't know about kiwi bank, but I know most banks are moving away from showing the full credit card number on the bank statements for just this reason (PCI DSS)

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Kyanar

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#1072328 23-Jun-2014 07:54

TimA:
Glassboy: This might be boring but I take them to work and put them in the document destruction bin.

I still dont trust those.

Personally I'd trust our document destruction bins at work more than any home shredder (you know, hospital and all - that's your patient information we're dumping in those bins)

Demeter

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#1072329 23-Jun-2014 07:57

I use them as kindling. The ink makes really pretty multicolour flames. ^_^

Inphinity

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#1072344 23-Jun-2014 08:50

rayonline: i burn mine ... envelope and pamphlets can be dumped though. 3yrs not that much. i did that before but now i burn them each 6 months.

on a related note - is it ok to receive statements via the email ie - Gmail (attachment). that is what Kiwibank does so if Gmail is hacked they see the whole CC number your name and address.

I have to say I think it's pretty terrible the full card number is disclosed. I'm also surprised that's a PCI compliant practice Personally if my bank did that I would be asking for no statements of any kind either posted or emailed, and only access it via secure online login.

TinyTim

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#1072361 23-Jun-2014 09:02

+1 for the cheap shredder. Though they are a slow way of disposing of statements - the cheapies really only do two or three pages at a time.

I also use the work security bin for things like eftpos receipts.

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