Why do people lose their bills?

  • There is no “home” for the bills.
  • Their is no system for handling their daily mail.
  • They have not found the right tools.
  • They are not sure which bills they even have.
  • Subconsciously, people loose bills because they don’t know how much money they have in their account, or find the process of paying their bills truly unbearable.
  • The bills get mixed in with other paper.

Now let’s explore solutions for organizing your bills…==Get comfortable using on-line bill paying options.

If you haven’t ventured out to try either online bill paying or automatic payment, you may want to consider this time and tree saving method. It requires less paperwork and will provide reminders so you won’t forget!

There are several ways to make this happen. You may want to try it with one bill at a time to get confidence and see how it all works. Set up an automatic payment with the companies you pay monthly, quarterly, or yearly. Examples would be the utilities, car insurance, subscriptions, etc. They will send you an email stating what will be taken out of your account and on what day. This will have to be set up with each individual company.

  1. You can have it set up to come out of a checking account or your credit card.
  2. You can go directly onto the website of the company you need to pay and pay your bill through them with a credit card.
  3. Through your bank, you may be able to set up web bill pay which is similar to having a check written out to make the payment. Some banks will charge you for this service, so make sure before you sign up.

The first two options are free, so I would recommend them over this option.==Take advantage of your computer for organizing your bills.

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Whether you are paying online or not, I would also recommend using a software such as Quicken or Microsoft Money. You can download your transactions, set reminders, schedule bills, as well as have an automatic running total for your account(s). I have been using the computer and auto payments for over 4 years and will never go back.

==Create a daily mail center.

The mail center will help you sort out the important mail from the fluff. It will also give you a visual reminder for the bills that need to be paid and a place holder for bills to be mailed.

==Group your bill paying tools.

Create your own space for the following tools that will simplify your bill paying efforts. This can be a drawer near the place you normally pay bills, a box, or a large plastic envelop, or ziplock bag.

  • calculator
  • pen/pencil checks
  • envelopes
  • return address labels
  • deposit slips
  • stamps
  • check register
  • list of passwords and log-in information for websites

==Group when you pay bills. Instead of paying a bill here, and a bill there throughout the month, I recommend you set time aside each week, or twice a month to pay your bills. I personally designate my Friday’s as “Financial Day” so I can enter my receipts into the computer, download new transactions, balance my accounts, and pay the bills. This probably takes less than 15 minutes because it is done on a regular basis. You can also decide to pay bills the 15th and the 30th of each month. Do what works best for your schedule. The point is to become more proactive in paying your bills.

==Create an All-In-One solution for paper management.

Along with your bills, you will also have other papers with deadlines, or things for you to act on.

I call this “action paper.” Why keep these separate from your bill organizer? It is easier to maintain and create a system that will incorporate it all.

==Make bill paying more enjoyable.

If bill paying is still painful, think of ways you would actually enjoy it more. Here are a few suggestions.

  • Pay bills by candlelight
  • Play your favorite music
  • Have your favorite drink
  • Pay bills at your favorite coffee shop
  • Pay bills at your favorite park
  • Set up a bill paying date with a friend
  • Get a stamp that says “PAID” and use it!
  • Say a thank you to each business behind the bill for the service they provide and for having the money to benefit from them. This world is abundant!
  • Switch bill paying for another job in the household, if there is someone else at home who can do this task.

==Get in the habit of balancing your checkbook.This may seem obvious, but I feel it is important to talk about. By balancing your checkbook daily or weekly, you will feel empowered because you are on top of your financial self and know when it is most appropriate to pay what bill. Again, Quicken and Microsoft Money make this a snap.

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==Cancel some of your bills.

Are there bills you can remove from your life? Subscriptions to magazines, memberships, etc.? Not only will this save you money, it will reduce the amount of bills you have to keep up with. Take a closer look, you may be surprised what you can let go of!