With her busy schedule, some bills may go unnoticed till it is too late or are overdue. It’s normal to forget some bills, especially the seasonal ones. Have you ever forgotten to pay a bill? Most people have.
Having a system in place to plan your bill should not be complex or stressful. In fact, the simpler the better. Adopt a system that works for you. The aim is to avoid unnecessary expenses like interests, penalties and late fees.
How to organize your bills:
- Review your budget
If you don’t have a budget, create one. This will help guide you on what needs to be paid, when it needs to be paid and how much things cost. It will help you cut down on unnecessary expenses.
- Create a list of bills
Whether physically or digitally list down all your bills and the dates due. You can use your mobile phone to set up reminders to give you a heads-up.
- Keep bills in one place
Some of the bills you’ll get will be digital and some physical copies. Find a folder in your phone or computer and store all your digital bills together and for the hard copies create a filing system with different folders for different bills. Ensure that the folders are easily accessible.
- Schedule regular time to pay bills
Schedule payments of bills around the time you get paid. This will help you not to drain your account, pay interest, penalties or late fees.
- Use electronic payment when possible
It is easier to keep track of payments made electronically than cash. Electronically paid bills act also as proof of payment. You can also have bills paid automatically by allowing companies to debit your account at a certain date each month. However, you need to ensure there is money in your account on those dates.
- Do away with paper bills and statements.
You want to avoid cluttering your house with paper. After a certain period let’s say 3month- 1year discard bills depending on the kind e.g., utilities bills after 3month and monthly mortgage after a year. This is part of being organized.
- Have two bank accounts
You can choose to have two accounts, one for personal use and saving and other for paying bills. This will ensure that you won’t use funds kept aside for paying bills for personal use and vice versa.
Having to pay a bill at the last minute could be such an inconvenience, especially when you don’t have money to do so or have other plans for the money you have. Planning your bills ahead of time will ensure you are never found pants down.
Sources: Young Mogul, marginmakingmom, onecrazyhouse, us news, refinedroomsllc, investopedia, minimalismadesimple
