10 Tips For Stress Free Bill Paying

What kind of schedule do you have in place for paying or organizing your bills? Do you sit down on a bi-weekly basis to balance your checkbook, or do you mainly react to late notices and worry in the interim? If you are like many people who lose their bills or wait to pay them until payday, you may be wasting money on unnecessary fees and hurting your credit.

I know that stress-free and bill paying are not terms that usually go together, but here are some easy tips to consider when handling your monthly bills that will lighten your experience:

1. Keep a tray or box to place any incoming bills as soon as you bring in the mail. Whether by the front door, or in your home office, place it in a convenient clutter-free area so that you have no question where your bills are.

2. Write the date due on the outer edge of the envelope & place them in date order as a reminder of when the next one needs to be mailed. You may even want to psyche yourself out by writing down a date four or five days before the due date to prevent sending them out late. This is what I do for the bills that have to be mailed, and for those expected bills without envelopes I will make them out ahead of time.

3. Identify a few days a month to regularly pay your bills and balance your checkbook. I do this every Monday whether I have bills to pay or not. I have found that if I don’t dedicate one day a week for this, some things may get overlooked. Believe me – I have learned my lesson on late fees and handling credit, so I don’t want any chance of ever having to pay unnecessary fees. Prepare your envelopes ahead of time for mailing by applying return address labels, write out your checks and attach stamps (if you don’t have personalized labels, you can easily make them from your computer . Also use this time to look over your credit card and bank statements for any unusual charges or purchases that may not be yours. Many people lose money by not paying attention to their statements & if caught early, may be able to have a charge waived or an interest rate dropped, even in today’s economy.

4. Use a reminder service like WhatBills? so that you don’t forget to pay them. This is a great service for your Mortgage or Rent which may not come to you in the mail.  Even if you honestly did not receive the bill, collectors still need to be paid, so it is your responsibility to catch a mistake before it becomes a problem later on.

5. Come up with a reminder of your own – I have a simple form that I use as a monthly reminder CLICK HERE to download a list of basic recurring collectors. I keep a permanent list of all my bills in my check register & write in the date that I paid them so that I know by the end of the month that they were all taken care of. This is a form that you can print out at the end of each month to refer back to as you pay.

6. Pay your bills online. Most banking institutions now offer Bill Pay – a free service to electronically pay your bills. This makes it so simple and stress-free with just a click of your mouse. Keep in mind that depending on the day of week, you may have to wait a day or two before it will actually go though, so you will need to think ahead.

7. Designate a “Bill Drawer” in your desk or kitchen with all of the necessary tools. In mine, I keep the checks, balance ledger (or checkbook), due-date form, spending spreadsheet, date stamp, envelopes, calculator, stamps & a pen so that it is all together and ready for bill day.

8. Create a budget – With QuickBooks and other helpful home registers, it is easier than ever to monitor your spending. A home budget keeps you informed of where your money is going and you may be shocked at just how much you are really spending at the grocery store. CLICK HERE to download a free budget sheet.

9. Consider using a Ledger to record your transactions. I found THIS ONE at Office Max a few years ago and I really enjoy using this, versus those pocket checkbook records you receive from the bank. I think I have had my ledger for about seven years now & I love that I can go back a couple of years to look up a purchase or verify when a new account started.

10. Filing your statements – Keep a manila file folder handy to place your statements in when you receive them. Simply place the newest statement in the front of the file & you will always know where to go when you need to reconcile. Any statements over a year old can be Archived.  Create separate files for each account & label them clearly for easy retrieval.

You can eliminate so much stress in your life simply by being more prepared and having a bill-paying routine. The money you save in overdraft fees or late charges will surely be a weight off your shoulders and will protect your credit score in the end.