I totally suck at bills.

[tsolomon]

I use Quicken to balance my checkbook and online bill paying for all the bills. Quicken will allow you to put in your deposits or paychecks and then enter your bills as you pay them online. With online bill paying you can pay bills when they come in, but set the actual payment for the due date which is usually several weeks later. You can then see your balance over the month as money comes in and bills get paid.

[Sauer Grapes]

I just use my banks onlne bill pay to schedule the payments the day the bill comes in. The date I schedule the bill to he paid is a day or two before the due date.

[hova45]

Originally Posted by shilala

I've been divorced for about three years now and I still totally suck at paying bills.
I've developed a process that includes a giant fallen over pile and a check book. I sift for an hour and keep writing checks till there's no more money, then I try again in another month or two.
The problem is that I never paid the bills in my life. Ever. There was always a girlfriend or a wife that did it.
I don't think I'm genetically predisposed to pay bills. I lack the boobs and brain power to care. I've always been perfectly fine with "I'll make the money, honey. You go ahead and spend it. If you need some more, let me know and I'll get ya some more."
If we ever needed more money, I'd just get a job or do something else drastic like that.
How the hell does a guy develop a system to get this stuff done?

Well I have always been great with my finances, but as mentioned above i would look into automatic bill payment, a calendar and a online bill payment system like Bank of America. Where you can add all of the companies which you owe money too every month aka payees... As soon as a bill comes in I make note of it on the calendar and put when its due or just pay it right away. Also you can ask most companies to bill you on a certain date so like that you pay everything at the same time.

[themoneycollector]

Usually you can add a CC to your recurring bills to pull it automatically as well.

[K Baz]

Oddily the fear of being cut off of whatever utility and or service insures that I pay my bill on time.

I personally pay them online the day I get them saves wondering and time. Get it pay it file it.

I know my Bank has a service where they recieve your bills and pay them for you. I also know you can get direct withdrawls and they just send you the statement. I have tried this with cigar vendors and none todate have offered the service

I am in Canada and things are probably different.

[TripleF]

Pretty easy actually bro.
Make money.
Subtract money.
Make more money.
Subtract money.


Have a mental calculator. That's the biggest thing right there. You should always know "ballpark" how much money you got where. Just should.

[DPD6030]

Go off the grid and forget about bills all together! All kidding aside I have a paid and unpaid bills box arraged by date they are due.

[dunng]

Here is what you need... http://www.improvementscatalog.com/h...organizer.html

Ynab.

[shilala]

Originally Posted by alley00p

Scott, we used to be constantly late with bills, but unfortunately we can't follow the procedure above alot of the time because we get paid bi-monthly.

So our process is:
1) Get a calendar with room to write in the box each day.
2) Upon receipt of bill, open it, and mark the payee and $$ on the date 7 days prior to due date on the calendar.
3) File the opened bills in order of due date (we use a hanging plastic file).
4) On payday, pay as many bills as possible, depending on the amounts.
5) Mail bill and check that day or next, or use online bill pay (we do online, when possible).

This all sounds complicated, but the initial setup takes an hour or so, and when a bill arrives, it takes a few minutes to mark it on the calendar. Depending on the frequency of your pay periods, it may take 1/2 to an hour to write checks or do the online payment thing.

This process is what got us out of our bad habits and having to pay those ungodly late fees that you get hit with now. Now we have the bills under control, and my wife or myself can sit down twice a month to get everything paid in advance of the due dates, normally with money to spare.

That's good stuff, Charlie.
I think I'm going to employ that and one of the badass bill organizers Greg posted.
That oughta get it under control.
I already called about getting a job. I think I'm gonna go back to work.

[Whee]

Originally Posted by shilala

I've been divorced for about three years now and I still totally suck at paying bills.
I've developed a process that includes a giant fallen over pile and a check book. I sift for an hour and keep writing checks till there's no more money, then I try again in another month or two.
The problem is that I never paid the bills in my life. Ever. There was always a girlfriend or a wife that did it.
I don't think I'm genetically predisposed to pay bills. I lack the boobs and brain power to care. I've always been perfectly fine with "I'll make the money, honey. You go ahead and spend it. If you need some more, let me know and I'll get ya some more."
If we ever needed more money, I'd just get a job or do something else drastic like that.
How the hell does a guy develop a system to get this stuff done?

Soooo, this isn't how you're supposed to do it? Been divorced twice and still hate to do it. I usually wait til the colored envelopes show up and then pay those. Those tend to be disconnect notices. when I get more than three calls a day from a creditor, I pay them.

A bad system is still a system, right?

[Nabinger16]

I use a simple Word doc. Most people have the same bills every month, month after month. I do up a whole year at a time broken into each month in order of when the bill is due. When I pay the bill, I mark it as paid and the date I paid it. I have records of my bill and when I paid them for years.


Rent $000.00 04-01-09 PAID 03-25-09
Vehicle $000.00 04-05-09 PAID 03-31-09
Credit card $000.00 04-12-09
Gas/Electric $000.00 04-20-09

[RevSmoke]

Originally Posted by dunng

Here is what you need... http://www.improvementscatalog.com/h...organizer.html

That's a great little deal there. You put them in there like that, and then, when the paycheck/income comes in, you take them out and pay them.

Mine is simple. I get paid on the 1st & 15th and then right out my checks. Some happen every paycheck (2 to the church). Some are monthly, with a little bank book (they are usually 1st or 15th) depending on when they are due. The rest, you place there and they wait till that "income" comes in and then you pay all that remain. After they are paid, you start collecting for the next "income" time frame.

[TXRebel]

Originally Posted by shilala

That's good stuff, Charlie.
I think I'm going to employ that and one of the badass bill organizers Greg posted.
That oughta get it under control.
I already called about getting a job. I think I'm gonna go back to work.

Also keep your checkbook totaled, it will save you time when balancing. It only takes a minute to total when you do it after each check or deposit, instead of an hour if you total every week or month.

Just pay your bills..it's not hard. Spend less than you make.

[mithrilG60]

I use my credit card for everything from coffee at Starbucks on up, but only as a convenience card. I make a note of each purchase I make when I'm out in my Blackberry and then transfer the money back onto my CC via online banking the next time I'm in front of a computer. I never carry a balance and therefore never pay interest charges. For other bills such as insurance, cable, loans, etc. it's all automatically deducted from my bank account by the vendor. I also have them all set up to never send me a paper bill, just an electronic copy via email.

Perhaps it's just the difference between the US and Canad but I don't know anyone under the age of 50 that still uses cheques or a chequebook. Similarly almost no one I know ever carries cash. In fact I'll walk out of any business that accepts only cash since it's bigger hassle to go find cash then come back than it is to just find another business that accepts credit or debit (realistically 99% of businesses accept both so it's rarely an issue).

Originally Posted by Mugen910

Automatic online bill paying?

Ditto,,,been doing this for 9 years now and never worry about bills and they are paid I get a receipt and know how much I have left on the balance.

[Skywalker]

Do what Bobarian does... Send a check for $100.00 for each bill, don't look at what you actually owe!!!

In a few months you'll get a refund from ATT... and your power shut off!!!

[Skywalker]

Do what Bobarian does... Send a check for $100.00 for each bill; don't look at what you actually owe!!!

In a few months you'll get a refund from ATT... and your power shut off!!!

[WildBlueSooner]

Originally Posted by themoneycollector

Usually you can add a CC to your recurring bills to pull it automatically as well.

You mean pay them with cubans instead of money?