My process for paying bills is really boring. I’m writing about it only because it stands in contrast to the interesting ways other people go about it. I don’t pay attention to the mint.com alerts or put anything on a calendar or set all my bills in a neat little pile on the corner of my desk.
But, I never miss a payment.
I do what my dad does. It’s very simple. On the tenth of each month when I get my first paycheck, I sit down and pay all of my bills. I have them all in a little chart and I go through one by one, paying them online.I pay everything except for my rent. That’s what my second paycheck of the month is for.
| Date | Bill | Amount | Paid | Deducted |
| 1st | Rent | $800 | ||
| 18th | WF Visa | $200 | ||
| 21st | Cell | $90 | ||
| 23rd | Capital One Visa | $250 | ||
| 24th | Car Insurance | $103 |
My income sometimes varies (especially from my second job), but the bills are always the same. I know how much I will have left after I pay them. From there I make my own bill for how much extra I will pay toward my debt. I like to set that in stone, so I’m not tempted to spend it either by going shopping or making little concessions here or there. Except for the $250 I put aside for food, gas, and household stuff, everything else goes to paying down my debt.
Related posts:
{ 5 comments }
Can I say how proud I am to know you?
Yup, that’s exactly what I do. I have all my bills written down on my iPhone (in the Notes app), and as soon as I get a bill, I write the date due and the amount (like you, most of the amounts stay the same). The day I get paid, I immediately pay my bills. I only get paid once a month now so all my bills get paid on the same day, except for one credit card that I have to wait another week to pay (because I don’t get the statement until a week after payday… annoying, and I tried to change the due date, but so far no luck).
Now I just need to be like you and put ALL my money to debt. I’ve spent a bit too much money online shopping already this year, but I keep justifying it because I’m not using my credit card. I should be putting that money TOWARDS my credit card. Sigh.
Despite the fact you consider this boring, I’m actually really interested.
As party of my debt problems I think it all stems from not having a good system in place. I’ve attempted the budget thing but perhaps I need a little more than that.
This is a really great system to have. Luckily, for me, the only bills I’m responsible for our my credit card bills, gas, and cell phone. But it would be helpful to put this system in place for my mom and I so we can get all of our bills out of the way at the beginning of the month.
I write my bills in my daily planner which I check every night. I also write reminders to pay the bills earlier than the bills are due so I am not late. I set up 3/4 of my bills on autopay so I never have to worry about them.
Comments on this entry are closed.