Twists on documents and children's savings

Several recent columns have drawn interesting reader responses that are worth sharing.

First, a column on how long people need to save various financial documents brought an e-mail from a reader named Marilyn.

Marilyn wrote that, regarding documents pertaining to individual retirement accounts, the law once said they had to be kept forever.

"However, when I was getting ready to leave (Salt Lake City) and had seven Xerox boxes of these, showing transfers, combinations, etc., over many years — all the stuff people do to chase the highest yield — I asked the IRS. They said it was not necessary to keep anything except the 8606 and the year-end reports for seven years of tax returns.

"Took a couple of DAYS to shred all that!"

Thanks for the tip, Marilyn. And I hope you enjoyed all of that shredding — I know I would!

Another reader, Ann, sent an e-mail with her thoughts on helping children learn to save, in response to my piece on taking my daughters to the bank.

Ann wrote that she has four daughters, and she and her husband do several things to help teach the girls about money. First, the four children get "paid" twice each month, just like their dad. On each of the paydays, they receive a dollar for each year they are old.

"They get a little pay stub where 10 percent is deducted and goes into the family tax jar," Ann wrote. "Other items might be deducted, like if they don't do a chore and I have to hire it out (pay a sister or neighbor to do it). Chores are not a paid thing, but if they fail to do them, someone else has to do it, and in the real world if you get someone else to do your work, you have to pay them. They can also earn extra money by doing extra jobs as posted on the fridge."

The family "tax money" is used in various ways, like paying for movie nights or dinner out. Ann wrote that some of it is being donated to the Children of Ethiopia Education Fund to help send two girls in Ethiopia to a private school.

"When they get their money and pay stub, a tithing slip, envelope and savings slip are enclosed with it," Ann continued. "They get to choose to save or pay tithing, but it is there as a reminder.

"At the end of the year we tally up how much they save and match it 50 cents to the dollar. This provides a little extra incentive to save."

Ann said she also has learned to stand strong when she is shopping with her children and they start whining.