This morning I sat down at the computer for what I call Bill Pay Day. What is Bill Pay Day, you ask? The day of the month that I pay all of our monthly bills – no matter what day of the month they are due.
As a working wife, mom, crochet/food/finance blogger, and master plate juggler, I find myself plowing through the days (weeks?) and before I know it the gas bill is late, the automatic car payment has been taken out and I’m getting reminders that the cell phone bill is due. Sound familiar?
I’m also one of those people that mentally responds to text messages and emails so those bill pay reminders tend to go in one ear, wave, and go straight out the other. I’m also a hands-on type of girl – minimal automatic withdrawals for me. I like to SEE the bill in my hand, mark it off my calendar, then stuff it in the manila envelope for tax time.
What is Bill Pay Day?
Why do you want to pay all of the bills at once? Won’t that make you feel uber broke? Brokalicious? El Broko? SupercalifragilisticexpialiBROKE? That’s possible… but if you are in the position to start a Bill Pay Day, you should! It will also make you…
1. Avoid late fees
2. Be less stressed
3. Improve your credit score
4. Budget better
One bill might be due on the 3rd while another is the 14th, 29th or 31st. Keeping all of these due dates straight, while focusing most of my time working, creating new crochet patterns, and feeding my children, is a struggle. Even sweeter? By paying bills this way I don’t even have to THINK about bills for an entire month!
Before I started Bill Pay Day, if my WiFi was funky, I would find myself asking “did I pay the internet bill last month?” and this only added to my already ridiculously high stress level. Not only can late payments lead to late fees, but it can hurt your credit too.
And what was that about budgeting better? Once I sit down and pay all of the bills for the month, I know exactly what is left in my bank account. Whether that is good, bad or just plain ugly. This helps me to stay on track with my spending each month because I KNOW what I have to spend and I’ll feel guilty for using my credit card for any non-essential purchases, if they go above and beyond that number.
How to create a “Bill Pay Day”
Once you get to where you are one month ahead of your expenses (and all of your monthly bills for the moment are paid – woohoo!) take a look at the calendar and decide which day you want to sit down for Bill Pay Day. I choose to do this when I pay the mortgage because we never forget to pay the mortgage.
Sit down and pay the mortgage or rent, the gas bill, the electric bill, the cell phone bill, the water bill and the internet/cable bill – no matter when they are due. Do you have your car insurance taken out automatically? If not, pay that too! Pay ALL of the recurring bills at once and you’ll never be late – you’ll be early! Isn’t that liberating?
We’ve already ascertained that my husband and I rack up points by using our credit cards for everything we buy (and we also pay them off every month) and by doing so this helps us to stay that month ahead of our expenses. When it comes to bills though? Nahhh… I need me a Bill Pay Day.
Is this something you would do, and do think it would benefit you if you started?
More finance fun (or something like that):
Six Reasons You Should *EXCLUSIVELY* Use Credit Cards
Budget 101: How to Manage Your Budget Like an Adult
Why You Need to Stay a Month Ahead of Your Expenses
Tips for Choosing Credit Cards (for Their Rewards Programs)
20 Things Frugal People Don’t Do
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