Personal Finance Advice

A new trend seems to be popping up, especially among places offering quick transactions such as fast food restaurants and drive-thru coffee shops.  Instead of automatically handing over the receipt for the purchase, the cashier asks, “Do you need your receipt?” It may be because so many people turn around and toss the receipt away, or because the establishment is trying to save a little bit of money in paper, but the question is becoming more and more prevalent.

Your answer, of course, should be, “Yes, please.”

Think about what a receipt is.  It’s concrete proof of the transaction with the merchant.  It shows what you purchased, how much you paid for it, and what day and time the sale took place.  You might not think it’s so important to hang on to a receipt -especially when it’s for a relatively small amount - but if you used a credit or debit card to make the purchase then you should absolutely request a receipt.  Why? Here are a few reasons:

1.  You might want your money back.  Suppose you swipe your card, grab your latte and then drive to work.  You don’t take a sip of your drink until you’re walking into work, and it’s the worst latte you’ve ever had in your life.  You call the coffee shop and the manager tells you to bring your receipt and you’ll get your next latte free of charge, and they’ll throw in a pastry for your trouble.  If you don’t have your receipt, you can’t prove you ever bought the foul latte.

2.  You might need to prove the amount you spent.  You get your credit card statement in the mail and there is a charge from your favorite fast food restaurant for $167, which is a great deal more than what you usually spend there.  In fact, the receipt you kept says that the charge was supposed to be for $16.70, not $167.  You’ll have much more luck getting the error cleared up if you have your receipt. 

3.  You can identity someone if fraud becomes an issue.  Granting strangers access to your credit or debit card number can be risky, and using your card for purchases is no different.  If you find a slew of fraudulent charges on your credit card statement the very same day you bought lunch from a shady character at the corner deli you may be able to reference the receipt to identify the employee who you think might be responsible for the theft.  It’s certainly easier than calling the deli and asking for the name of “the guy who worked three weeks ago and had a bad attitude.”

What should you do with the pile of receipts you will inevitably collect in between debit and credit card statements? Just find a place where you can place them and then toss them after your statements have arrived and everything looks accurate.  There is no reason to sift through the receipts unless you suspect there is a problem or error.

You should keep receipts of anything you may need to return or anything of high enough value that you should have the receipt for insurance purposes.  Of course, keep receipts for all business expenses for when you file taxes, otherwise you may not be able to claim all the deductions you had planned on claiming.

Think of receipts as simple safeguards to make sure you don’t get charged for something you didn’t actually buy.