How many bills do you pay a month? Do you even know? Or are they scattered all over the place with half a bill paid here and a third of a bill paid there?
Are you allowing late fees to add up and ruin your credit?
Paying bills is something we all have to do as adults.
There’s the telephone bill, the electric bill, the gas bill, the water bill, internet, cable, insurance…and so on and so on.
It sucks. Yes it does. But, the process of giving large portions of your money to a bill collector can be less painful.
If you are truly ready to get your bills on a good monthly budget start by taking action with these 6 simple steps.
1. Make A List Of All The Bills You Must Pay On A Monthly Basis
This can feel overwhelming…just take a breath…now write.
At first it can be hard to admit that you just may have a little problem with spending too much. The action of making a list helps you to see that and rectify the problem before it gets any worse.
Additionally making a list helps present a clear picture of who and what you owe.
Creating a less chance of forgetting a bill and missing an on-time payment.
Start by writing down your mandatory bills—resources you must pay to cover everyday living like, the power, gas, and water. Next include your phone, internet and cable balances. Now add all loans to this list…you car, student, etc.. Last jot down all insurance payments you make monthly. Don’t forget to add your rent/mortgage to the list as well.
Add up the sum total of the bills you listed. How much money do you have to sit aside each month? Is it more or less than you thought? Do you think some of these payments can be lowered or eliminated? This is what we’ll discuss in the next step…
2. Start Paying Your Bills In Full Every Month
It feels good to not owe past due debt. So, pay the balance of each bill in full every month so you won’t have any. If you can’t afford to pay in full set up payment arrangements to eventually get the balance current.
Let’s cut even more cost by getting some of your bills lowered. Sometimes you can pay too much for your cellphone, cable, car insurance, home insurance, internet and definitely credit card interest rates. Call the companies and negotiate lower payments and ask about discounts. Look into budget billing to pay less for your utility monthly payments. Call your utility company to see if this is available in your area.
Think about eliminating a couple of your bills to cut even more cost. Especially those you barely use or need.
3. Pay All Your Bills Within The Same Week
Arrange for your billing due dates to be dated around the same time of the month. Just call and ask for your payment due date to be changed.
It’s easier to keep track of your bills when they’re paid within the same week.
But, don’t include you rent/mortgage. I usually pay my mortgage near the beginning of the month and the rest of my bills near the middle of the month. Split up the payments between 2 paychecks if that works better for you.
This ends the headache with trying to come up with the money every time you see a bill in the mail or your email inbox.
4. Put Your Bills On Automatic Payment
Imagine having your bills paid in full every month without going online or mailing out a check. Accomplish this easily by having your bill payments automatically drafted from your checking or savings account.
Auto drafting can seem daunting at first. It makes some people nervous.
What if you don’t have enough money in your account to cover every payment? Or you may think what if my account gets over drawn or a check bounces or I forget to put the money in the bank?
If these are your fears they are valid. Just go slow. Only draft one bill. If it doesn’t work out then, go back to paying your bills manually.
When I first started I did it gradually. I set up each bill to be paid by auto draft one at a time in a year’s span. Phone and insurance are two good bills to start with because their monthly payments are often the same amount every month.
5. Treat Your Monthly Savings As a Bill
Pay yourself every single month and think of it as paying a bill. Budget in the amount you save with your other bills. Now you can’t make the excuse that you don’t have any money left over to save.
Pay towards your savings every week, bi-weekly or month—whatever works best for you. Take a percentage of your pay and deposit it into your emergency sayings account. This money should be used for car repair payments, home repairs, new appliances, doctor bills or any other unexpected emergency expense. You can also use a portion for vacation time or Christmas shopping.
Have your “saving bill” automatically drafted with the rest of your bills. But, instead of going to a bill collector the money goes directly toward paying you.
If saving isn’t one of your strong points try a few tricks that I explain in this article.
6. Don’t Forget to Include These Monthly Expenses
In addition to your monthly bills, add in your monthly expenses.
Some of these may include credit card bills, doctor bills, daycare, child support, gym membership and entertainment.
Some of these bills you may want to pay out of pocket verse doing an auto draft.
Conclusion
Hopefully these steps will help ease the stress of making your monthly bill payments. By following a mapped out budget you can clearly see how much is going out and how much more you can set aside for savings.
Eliminating late fees and paying balances in full helps to improve your credit as well. You will be that much closer to meeting your financial goals.
These are all exceptional points. Easily doable. Good credit is the key to getting what you want!
Thank you and yes Janice I agree about good credit.
treating savings as a bill is such a great idea. totally works!
Yes it makes it so much easier to save.
I love the idea of treating your savings each month like a bill. I have had a habit of using my savings to cover the credit card bill. I gotta stop that. It’s hard though when you are an entrepreneur because you find yourself consistently making sacrifices, but in doing so if not careful, we can be establishing unhealthy habits. Thanks for the reminder to be disciplined in our spending.
You’re welcome. l know it can be hard sometime to be disciplined. Just try to have as little access to your savings account as possible. Maybe even have your savings at a different bank away from your checking account.
Great tips! I find organizing all my bills in an Excel spreadsheet makes it super easy every month.
Oh l like that, that’s a good way to stay organized.
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