Recordkeeping

Do you have old records?

Have you kept your old tax returns, utility bills, pay stubs, insurance records or other records?  Some of your history is recorded there.  Before you toss the older records go through them and record the addresses, the dates, the places worked and other information that may add to your story.  Inflation has made a lot of changes in the amount we are paid and the amount we pay for things.  You don't want to keep every bill you've ever paid, but a few bills kept might add to your story.  When I first started work, I was earning a little less than $3.00 an hour.  The cost of a first class postage stamp was 10 cents.  The cost of a first class stamp now in 2013 is 46 cents.  The cost of gasoline was under 40 cents a gallon.  It costs about $4.00 a gallon now.  

If you are fortunate enough to have parents or grandparents records you can add a lot to their stories.  You can add where they lived and when, where they worked and how much they were paid, what they spent their money on and what it cost them.  Most people don't have a lot of records from their parents or grandparents, so count yourself very lucky if you do have records.

Use your old records to add to your story.

 

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