Phase 2 — The House Audit · 7 min read
Checking the Mail & Trash
The two lowest-technology sources in the entire handbook, and often the most productive.
01What the mail tells you
You are not looking for statements; a careful person has already gone paperless. You are looking for the mail that cannot be suppressed: privacy notices from institutions you have never heard of, tax forms, insurance declarations, escrow notices, county assessment letters, corporate annual report reminders, and the polite letters brokerages send when an address changes.
- An annual privacy notice from an unknown bank proves an account relationship exists.
- A 1099 or K-1 addressed to your home proves income you were never told about.
- A property tax bill for an unfamiliar parcel number proves land.
- Mail that is addressed to a business at your home address proves an entity.
02The discipline of the trash
Household refuse in your own home is generally yours to look at, but the boundaries vary and your attorney sets them. What matters is that shredding is selective: people shred statements and throw away envelopes. Envelopes carry return addresses, and return addresses are institution names. Note the name, then leave the rest alone.
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Buy the handbookMore in Phase 2 — The House Audit
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Pulling IRS Account Transcripts
The federal government keeps a copy your spouse cannot shred. Learn to read all four transcript types.