How do you organize all your bills and payments?
Question:I like to organize, but I always seem to have a problem organizing my (paper) bills. Anyone have any advice on how I should organize them? Thanks!
Answers:
I pay them on line at Everbank.com, mark the date they are set to be paid by the bank and then put them into a folder (filing cabinet) in date order.
pay them as soon as you get them! That works for me! Then I put them in a 3 ring binder. I either punch holes, or put them in page protectors.
I put all my bills in a folder when i recieve them, and near the beginning of each month list out my bills in a notebook according to date due, i also put approximate amounts/minimum payments with them, write the date I pay them next to them and cross them out once paid. I tried quicken and microsoft money, but i always got confused, and twice my data got deleted due to program errors, plus the more information you have available to potential hackers, the better chance your identity will be comprimised! A dedicated notebook and a folder keeps them all right at your fingertips and you always have somewhere to jot down important notes, as well as knowing where certain things are (I also keep privacy policies and other *ammendments* from credit card companies and the like in one side of the folder. I don not however keep old bank statements or bills, once I recieve a new statement, i review both the old and the new and throw the old one out. You dont need that clutter unless its for specific tax reasons, and if this is the case an additional folder can be used for long term storage. I spend about 30 minutes a week paying and organizing my bills !
Start using Internet bill pay. It is free with most large banks. When the bill comes in schedule it for payment, print out the confirmation and staple them together and file. I file bill by month not by type (gas, phone, etc. ) If i have to check on a payment i just go the the month it was due and pull out that file.
Make a twelve month Bill check off list on a poster board. List all the bills you have every month on the left hand side and the months across the top, List separately the ones that are paid bi-monthly or 4 times a year, List separately the temporary bills (the ones you'll have paid off in a year or less). You'll be able to see at a glance what's been paid, what's not been paid and what's coming up.
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