Okay, so several have emailed about the site, and I want to thank you all for your questions and comments. If you visit this site, please leave a comment below, and your blog url (If you have one.) Now, some tips on organizing your bills, so that they are easy to find, easy to pay, and easy to file. This is a simple, dimple system that works, even for someone like me who is un-organized by nature.
1. Purchase a “file-folder-box-thing.” Like one of these:
2. Find a nice, neat place to place your bills when you get them in the mail. Also, if you can, go paper-less with your bills. Many of the bills I pay are paper-less. I get an email notification that my bill is ready to be paid, and I go to that website and can view my bill there. For those of you who are nervous about not having a “hard-copy”, simply print out your bill from the website. Also, some online bill-pay services can receive e-bills directly from your billers. This is really convenient.
3. Okay, now you have your bills in a pile, a your file-folder. Hopefully, you are in the 21st century and you are using online bill-pay, but, if you still write old-fashioned checks, that is cool too. So, go through your bills, and get rid of anything you don’t need (extra-inserts, envelopes, etc. etc.) For you nervous nellies, go ahead and shred the stuff you don’t need. I just rip it up and throw it away…I like to live life on the edge.
4. Now, you have your stack of bills, your file-folder, your method of payment (check, online, debit-card, etc.), and you have rid yourself of the junk you don’t need. Organize your bills in one of two ways. First, if you don’t have the money to pay everything, pay the ESSENTIALS FIRST. Now, I would never suggest not paying someone what you owe them…BUT…if it is a choice between VERIZON and your ELECTRIC BILL, for mercy sake, keep the lights on! The second way, and this is the way to do it if you have your financial feet under you and you are paying everything on-time, is to organize your bills by due date (duh!) Go ahead and get your bills totally in order, by due dates, and put them in a nice neat stack. Take your time, and get your head into the bill-paying game. You might even want to check over each and every bill, and make SURE that you are only paying for what you have used or are going to use. Don’t use your calling card provided by your local phone company? Then call and have that charge removed. Little things like that can add up. We were paying for 5.00 worth of local channels on our dish that we never used…I called, and cancelled. They charged me 5.00 to downgrade my tv package, but I still come out 55.00 ahead for the year.
5. Now you have everything in order. If you are mailing, go ahead and get your envelopes and stamps ready. If you are using an online-service, take your stack of bills to the computer. You are now ready to write your checks, or enter your bill-payment requests. Do this now. Don’t forget to pay the bills that are paper-less. Write down (or record on your computer) the dates, accounts, and amounts.
6. Now, take your bills, put your stamps on them, and get to the mail-box. Whew, you are finished with this (days, weeks, months) bills. BUT…you still need to file them. I simply put them into my box alphabetically, placing the newest bill to the back. I also write the date on the bill telling me when I paid the bill. You could also include the check number if you wanted. (Don’t forget to add these transactions to your check-book!) WOW…you are done…that big stack of pain-in-the-behind bills is GONE…go relax…
7 years ago i don’t have any bills on my own, since migrating here necessitates BILLS i became its slave. my friend makes fun of me because as soon as i open my mails which consists of bills, i go to my desk and computer and pay my bills. she said that i’m so anal about my bills. well who wouldn’t? the best advice i got since i came here is: to live within my means, don’t use the credit card if you can’t pay it off on its due date. and it’s true whenever i get a bill of more than $100.00 in any of my credit cards, i literally sweat. because back home(manila) we don’t use credit cards, we pay cash. so if i can’t afford it i cannot buy it.
i use my bank’s pay bill online which saves me from a trip to the USPS and stamps. i have a simple spreadsheet so i can keep track of my spending, bills to pay and stuff that i pay annually. i keep my receipts by month in case i need to return something in the store. i logged all my spendings, take out, eat out, groceries so i know the things that i’m buying.
i have a notebook so i know what’s going on with my car’s maintenance and how much gas i’m using each month.
i also have a car savings for its maintenance and probably a dopwnpayment for a new car in case it dies which i’m hoping in 4-5 yrs from now. my work is just 2 miles away from my house so i have a low mileage in my car. i always plan my errands in order for me to save gas and time.
i guess that’s it. thanks for reading.