Tips to Avoid Paying your Bills Late

1. Get into the habit of sorting through the mail every day. No matter how busy the day is or how long, no matter how tempting it is to just throw the mail in a pile until tomorrow, it is best that they be dealt with as they were found before they are all together forgotten. Putting off the seemingly simple task of riffling through the mail is how bills get misplaced, forgotten, and unpaid. Separate the bills from the other mails and put them in the part of the house that you frequently visit, rest, or do activities in.

2. Pay each bill as soon as it arrives. It would have been the ideal thing to do but if that is not possible, assign a special spot where the unpaid bills are to be placed until such time as they can be paid. That way, you'll always remind that there are pending bills, also what they are, and where they are. Again, place them somewhere where they are visible to you every day.

3. Create a Bill-Paying Space. Having a designated place with a comfortable chair, uncluttered desk, good lighting, and all the supplies (pen, envelopes, stamps, etc.) you need, will make it much easier to pay your bills on time.

4. Put a tag or label the envelopes. Put little notes or short reminders on each one like the due date and the amount to be paid. Use large scrawls, bold colors, or markers on the envelopes. Screaming letters are much harder to ignore especially if they are reminders of unpaid bills, how much they are, and when they were/are due.

5. Appoint a “pay date” day. Gather the bills and write down their due dates. Tally them and designate a pay date for each month. Depending on when the income arrives, if the payment is based on the salary that is, it could be at the end of the month or the first of the month. That designated pay date should be at least a week ahead of when the earliest bill is due.

6. Own or possess a big calendar. This calendar is going to be your personal alarm clock, bill diary, the heads-up or alert central. This calendar/s can be on the cell phone or mobile phone and even the in the laptop. Make sure to put notes and alerts in advance, in case you need to withdraw or make special payment arrangements to beat the deadline, or if you know that you are going on vacation at a future date, you can pre-pay bills that are going to be due on the dates that you are away.

7. Keep a ledger type record book. It is a simple 2-column record with an extra column for notes. It should go without saying that you should have a record and calculation of how much money comes in and how much goes out. This is where your budget plan is going to be based. The budget should include an allowance or savings for emergency expenses.

8. Set up payment plans. There are at least three ways to pay the utility bills. Payment at the service office, via the credit card, and payment through the personal bank account. Avail of the utility payment services that many banks offer. Depending on your bank it could be free of charge or with a small service fee. The payment service will automatically deduct the amount that you have requested (have set) from your account and forward it to your utility company. This will save you travel time, gas, or even postage money, and the best part is your payments are not going to be delayed. So it is best to leave room for errors like the appearance of a late fee. The good thing about banks is that all transactions leave a trail, so if it was by mistake that you get billed for late payment, just call the bank and ask that it be removed. If it is an error on their part they would gladly correct it. *Some consumers prefer not to give out their checking or other savings account with regards to utility payments but they recommend that a credit card payment system be set up instead.

Related articles about budgeting:

Sticking to a budget
Creating a budget