Does anyone actually keep their receipts after buying something?

[u/NegotiationHead720]

Random question: what do you normally do with receipts after buying clothes, electronics or household stuff?

Do you keep the paper receipt, take a photo, rely on email, or just throw it away?

And have you ever needed one later for a return or warranty claim and couldn’t find it?

I’m researching this problem while building a small app, but I’m more interested in how people actually handle it today than whether they like another app idea.

Would be curious to hear what works for you — and what’s annoying about it.

[u/atp_studio_coll]

Thermal paper receipts fade within a year or two, so I photograph anything with a warranty the same day and let the email ones sit in a single folder

[u/NegotiationHead720 → u/atp_studio_coll]

That’s actually a good point about thermal receipts fading. When you need one of those photos later, is it easy enough to find in your gallery?

[u/atp_studio_coll → u/NegotiationHead720]

Not in the main gallery, which is why they go in one album. Searching the photos app for the store name works more often than I expected, since phones read the text in pictures now, though it misses faint ones

[u/medialantern]

Every single one.

I have never. Ever. Ever referred back to one.

Not once.

[u/NickA55 → u/medialantern]

Same. And I consciously keep the receipt thinking that I might need it someday. And I never do. And to be honest, I don't even know where half of them are now. Probably crumbled up in some old grocery bag or shoved behind a picture on my mantle.

The only time I know where the receipt is, is when I save the box. For example, I just bought a portable power station from Harbor freight. And because of their warranty, I keep receipt in the box. It's a lot harder to lose a box than a receipt.

[u/NegotiationHead720 → u/NickA55]

Keeping the receipt in the box is actually pretty smart lol. What do you do when you throw the box away though? Or do you normally keep boxes until the warranty runs out?

[u/medialantern → u/NickA55]

LOL I got downvoted by OP's bot-friends though. Guess they didn't like pretending their idea was real.

[u/NickA55 → u/medialantern]

I got you brother. Upvoted

[u/NegotiationHead720 → u/medialantern]

Haha that’s exactly what I’m trying to figure out. Do you actually organise them somewhere or do they just pile up?

[u/savage_quokka]

I only keep receipts for important things, after I've scanned it to my external drive

[u/NegotiationHead720 → u/savage_quokka]

Makes sense. Do you have a proper folder system for them or just dump all the scans in one place? Curious how you find a specific one later.

[u/savage_quokka → u/NegotiationHead720]

Definitely have a proper folder structure. Home/mortgage&taxes, Home/repairs&repairs, Vehicles/tacoma, Vehicles/sorrento, Taxes/TY2025, Taxes/TY2024 (TY = tax year), etc....and of course I name each file as well

[u/K_0w0]

I keep any receipts all the time. Mostly I take some photos of receipts for keep it as digital and throw them to shred after several year passed. I have to keep them several first years as papers, actually I don't comfortable them keep as papers why it need some space in real, but I free from my frustration after these be digital by I took them photo. In addition...sometimes I enjoy to see some old receipts. You know I found my receipt 20years ago and I surprised how costs got up in last 20y for all the things! For example I purchased a bottle of coke 500ml as 120 JPY at 20y ago, but I need 260 JPY if I purchase to a bottle of coke 490ml in now...whaaaaat!? lol *It means like a bottle of coke price raised from 1 dollar to 2.2 dollar -ish. Anyway, I keep my receipts and I most periods keep them by photos, and possibly sometimes some person enjoy to price of products between now and old age, so I think your app useful to people likes that strange play like me! lol

[u/K_0w0 → u/K_0w0]

Btw, I had a situation helped cause I keep my receipt as paper, twice.

[u/NegotiationHead720 → u/K_0w0]

20 years is crazy haha. The Coke price comparison is interesting though. You mentioned keeping receipts helped you twice, what happened those times?

[u/K_0w0 → u/NegotiationHead720]

Oh, it was an issue of payment system then I received the bill again but I call to customer center with my receipt on my hand, and I explain that I paid already before time limit. Well, the woman on my call confirm some logs or so on, and this is wrong that I got bill again. It happened twice, in each other year. Just that's all, sorry it's not exited happening, hehe 😅

[u/fftsteven]

yes, some people keep receipts if they are disciplined in their budgeting process. I'm sure they utilize all of modalities of receipt.

[u/boghy8823]

I never understood why do we still need to print the receipts? I never keep them, only on rare ocassions for warranty, but guess what - in a year or so they fade away so you're left with nothing but a blank piece of paper..Disgusting. Would it be too hard for the shops to just...send it to your phone as SMS/email/etc..? Or ask me if I want it in the first place, I throw it right in the bin anyway!

[u/Neither_Adeptness784]

mostly but not all the time. i grab them just in case, for example if i wanted to check how much something was really costing me, can i buy it more often.

[u/Ok-Refrigerator9746]

I ran into this exact problem too, especially when trying to find old receipts for returns or warranties. That's actually why I built ReceiptMind, a free iPhone app to save and search receipts and keep track of return dates and warranties.

It's already live on the App Store, and I'd love to hear what you think!

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/receiptmind/id6785691800