I have some bills on auto-pay. They're the same amount every month and come out on the same day - it's just easier that way. The others - such as rent and student loan payments - are paid manually. I suppose I could put the student loans on auto-pay now that Chris and I both have steady jobs. After all, I think we'd receive a 0.25% interest reduction if we do. Something to look into...
I remember, growing up, my father did his bills every Thursday night after dinner. He'd pull out the bills he'd received in the mail that week, along with a calculator, stamps, and checkbook. I remember thinking it was the most ridiculous thing he did all week - writing out all of those checks. I feel the pain now, except mine is all paid online.
Before this month, I didn't really have a bill paying system in place. I've always paid on time, but I generally will pay bills within the week before they're due. No reason, really, it's just how it's always been. I have bill reminders set up with Google Calendar so that Chris receives them, too. Manilla also sends me bill reminders...as well as Mint and PageOnce. {There is no reason I should ever pay a bill late with all of those reminders. haha}
I get paid on the 15th and 30th/31st. Chris gets paid the 7th and 21st. We have two bank accounts - each receives one of our pay checks. We use my pay for bills and savings and his for spending {groceries, gas, etc.}. It works out nicely because we only use one debit card for spending. Since we use my pay for bills, I'm now doing my bill paying every 15th and 30th/31st each month. The plan is to pay the bills within the next 15 days on payday. So far {I started on the 1st this month so I'd have things paid off until the 15th} it's working well.
Your challenge for today is to create a bill paying system. Weekly? Bi-weekly? Monthly?
I've thought about doing two accounts for the same reasons. We get paid weird. My husband twice a month and me only once. It can def be a pain.
ReplyDeleteOnce I got my budget set up several years ago, I have just been paying bills on the 15th and 30th, which is when I get paid. My DH's pay is on a bi-weekly basis, so it works out to wait until we have my little extra. Of course, now all of our bills are due at the beginning of the month since we've switched to UVerse, so now I'm putting a small amount into a separate account to save for the beginning of the month's bill-paying, and the rest goes to groceries and debt reduction. Seeing everything on paper gives you such peace of mind. Thank you for the informative posts!
ReplyDelete