A Simple System for Paying All of Your Bills on Time

The emphasis on this month is going to be all about saving money by being organized. A few years back when I made my own personal transformation, I learned that I had been wrong about seemingly organized people. First, I always assumed those who seemed organized had way too much time on their hands. Also, I thought it would cost too much money to be organized. Time and money were not things that I had a lot of! What I came to realize was that being organized SAVED me time and money. Procrastination does not buy you time…it costs you money and time. This week I am going to talk about setting up a system for paying your bills…on time. Did you realize that many credit card companies are now charging $45.00 and more if you miss your payment due date by one day? In addition, check out your statement at what can happen to your interest rate if you have one late payment. Many credit card companies are charging over 30% interest! That is crazy…but true! I am not even going into how this all affects your credit score which completely determines how much money it will cost you when you buy a home or other major purchase.

Following are a few tips to set up a system to pay your bills…on time…and save money in the process!

1. Open your bills as soon as you get them. Toss out the filler and place the bill and envelope in a designated spot. Throw away junk mail immediately.
2. Keep a list of all bills due for the month (Please see Monthly Bills document in the Tools section) The chart features 31 lines, one for each day of the month. Simply place to whom your bill is owed on the line of the date it is due. Once a bill is paid, mark the date and check number (or confirmation number with online payment).
3. Set up automatic payments for whatever bills possible.
4. Pay online and print out confirmation of payment.
5. For bills that you must mail, make sure you mail them at least a week before they are due, or better yet as soon as you get them.
6. Get your interest rate lowered. The next time you receive a “pre-approved credit card offer” in the mail offering a better rate than your current card, contact your credit card and let them know. Often times you can reduce your interest rate drastically! Even without another offer, your credit card company may be able to help you out.
7. Pay yourself! Set up an automatic direct deposit into a savings account. Use this money for whatever you want, vacation, home improvements, new car, etc.

Have a great week saving time and money setting up your own bill paying system!
Betsy