Paying Your Bills on Time

Have you had trouble paying your bills? If you are anything like me, the last thing that you want to think about when you return from a long day at the office is the bills that came in the mail. Billing companies know this too. In case you can't tell from the photo above, this bill that came in the mail today says 'Do Not Discard' on it. Companies are starting to realize what we have all known from personal experience for years ' that is, what we all do when we get home. We set the mail on a pile and forget about it for a few days until we clean house and go through the pile of mail.

What happens when we do this is that we often miss important bills. Before we know it, we've missed bills that we could have afforded to pay for ' whether it is a utility bill, internet, or credit card statement. Paying your bills on time is a very important aspect of managing your finances. Not only do late payments have the potential to ruin your credit, they also force you to pay extra fees for the delay. So, what can you do to pay our bills on time?

How to Pay Your Bills on Time

Pay Your Bills When You Get Them: One obvious option to paying your bills on time is to pay them when you get them. When you walk through the front door, take an extra minute, open the envelope and sit down at the computer to process the payment. It may be the last thing you want to do when you get home, but at least you aren't kicking yourself later.

Set Reminders: Another practical way to pay your bills on time is to use calendar reminders to pay your bills on time. I personally like using my phone for reminders, so I can login to my various accounts and pay the bills when I need to. The only downside to this route is that it could ruin a relaxing evening or go off in the middle of a movie. It's happened to me, but I have the ability to snooze it and be reminded hours later.

Set Up Automatic Payment: Another practical way to pay your bills is to set automatic payments for all of your regular bills. This ensures that it will always be paid (as long as you have a large enough balance in your savings account) and you don't have to worry about it. The only downside, and why I don't choose this route, is that bills can rise and you wouldn't notice the changes. Then, by the time you realize the mistake (if ever) like I did when I was tracking my expenses, it would be too late.

How do you pay your bills on time?