Paying bills when they come in vs. twice a month

[WatchinCaptKangaroo]

I am trying to decide if I should start paying bills as they come in instead of paying them twice a month like I currently do now.

An example:

All my utility bills, cell phone bill and credit card bill come in the last two weeks of the month to be paid around the 1st of the month. I have another set of bills that come in the first two weeks to be paid on the 15th of the month.

So right now I pay one set on the 1st and the second set on the 15th. Is there any benefit to paying bills as they come in vs. how I pay them now?

 

[OhMari]

My husband used to be paid twice a month the 10th & the 25th. Now my husband gets paid each Friday. I get paid bi-weekly. I find that I only went grocery shopping twice a month, now I go almost weekly. It forced you to eat what was in your refrigerator.

The only advantage I see, is you can push your bills off if you don't have enough money that week. But when we were paying twice a month, it forced you to stay on budget and you had to make your payments.

 

[bigsis1970]

Other then them being out of the way and on time - I don't see one unless you plan to pay extra? Michelle

 

[rrs_mhs]

My DH gets paid the 16th and last day of each month, so he pays bills twice a month. That way, he knows what bills he needs to pay at those times and it is easier to keep track.

When I was single, I used to pay bills as they came in and I did not keep track of what bills came in each month. Once, one bill never came (lost in the mail or whatever), so I never paid it and got a nasty letter from the company, with late fees.

I guess as long as you make sure that everything is getting paid every month than you'll be ok. However, I think that doing twice a month seems easier.

 

[WatchinCaptKangaroo]

Thanks guys!

I'll keep paying them as I do. I get paid twice a month and have the bills budgeted into each payday.

Thanks again

 

[nbodyhome]

I pay as they come in - that way I don't forget. The only difference being the rent payment, this month my husband got paid nearly two weeks prior to it being due. I am holding it until a couple days prior to the day it's due (I'll probably bring it over tomorrow). But everything else goes as soon as I get the bill.

Denise

 

[drayke]

Keep track of your cc due dates to decide this. Many card companies now shorten the time between when you get the bill and when the bill is due, if you are even a minute late over the time and date on the statement, you get dinged with a late fee and can have your interest rate raised. I have two cards that are generally due within 7 days of when I receive the statement copy. If I wait to pay all my bills according to when the income comes in twice a month, I would invarably end up paying a cc late.

I used to pay twice a month when I was paid, however switched to mostly paying when the bill comes in. Since switching to that method I never have a late fee.

 

[canwegosoon]

I pay them before their due date(usually by 3-5 days, depending on where the date falls on the calander-no checks on weekends). I have set up with my online bill paying automatic deductions/checks from my checking account. I have my paycheck allotment check list(my weekly budget) and just check off that payments are in the works, and edit any variable amounts. No late payments, and I now carry a weeks extra pay in my checking account so there are no mistakes. Best thing is all the money I am saving in postage, and if we are traveling I just log in and check my account real quick. WAY easier.... for me.

 

[WatchinCaptKangaroo]

On payday I'll sit down with the stack and do online bill pay through my bank. I can't think of an easier way to pay them, just thought I was missing something by not paying them as they come on.

Keep track of your cc due dates to decide this. Many card companies now shorten the time between when you get the bill and when the bill is due, if you are even a minute late over the time and date on the statement, you get dinged with a late fee and can have your interest rate raised.

This is very good advice. I'm lucky that I only have 2 cards, and have their due dates set for the 25th of every month. I pay one on the first payment (my credit union and they give you an additional week before you get a late fee and if you are going to miss a payment here or there and you call you get no fees, no interest hikes, no nothing. They're great.) and the other one on the 15th of every month.

 

[disneysteve]

I actually pay very few bills manually. Almost all are either auto-deducted from my checking account or billed to my credit card. I think the more of your bill paying you can automate, the better. It lessens your chance of accidentally missing a bill or paying late. And even if a bill gets lost in the mail, it has already been paid. Plus it frees up your time and saves you money on checks and postage.

 

[TinkerPixxie]

I pay my bills by doing it as they come in, I have to say honestly it makes me feel like im constantly paying a bill. Seems its always something due and it feels like a never ending battle. Personally I would love to get on track, pay them once a month and end the misery that consumes my life.
Im just not organized.
My opinion would be if your lucky and organized enough to be only dealing with it once or twice a month why put yourself through a weekly chore of payments. Its also got to reflect nicer on your check statements too I would think?

Good luck with whatever way to go

Tink~

 

[tlbwriter]

I actually pay very few bills manually. Almost all are either auto-deducted from my checking account or billed to my credit card. I think the more of your bill paying you can automate, the better. It lessens your chance of accidentally missing a bill or paying late. And even if a bill gets lost in the mail, it has already been paid. Plus it frees up your time and saves you money on checks and postage.

We had a couple of bad experiences with auto pay this year, so we switched all of ours to the kind where you have to approve the amount of the payment before it goes through (for some of these we had to switch to electronic payments through our bank rather than allowing the biller to have access to our checking account). I agree that it's very convenient, and forces/allows you to pay whether you actually received the bill, lost it in a pile on your desk, etc. But I will no longer allow anyone to take what they think I owe them directly from my checking account.

Also, we both get paid once a month, so we pay the bills once a month. Get it all over with in one fell swoop.

 

[kfeuer]

We had a couple of bad experiences with auto pay this year, so we switched all of ours to the kind where you have to approve the amount of the payment before it goes through (for some of these we had to switch to electronic payments through our bank rather than allowing the biller to have access to our checking account). I agree that it's very convenient, and forces/allows you to pay whether you actually received the bill, lost it in a pile on your desk, etc. But I will no longer allow anyone to take what they think I owe them directly from my checking account.

I agree with this. I used to have some bills automatically deducted from my checking account, but after listening to Clark Howard and hearing some people who had awful problems with it I cut it out. The only thing I have automatically deducted is our life insurance premiums, because they didn't give us a choice.

I charge everything I can to get rewards. Everything else I pay through online bill pay. I've got my mortgage and car payment set up to be paid automatically each month. It's just as convenient as auto-drafting, but I still have control. It only takes about 5 minutes twice a month to pay everything else. DH is paid on the 15th and 30th, so I pay bills around that time unless something comes in that's due sooner (like the occasional credit card bill).

 

[disneysteve]

We had a couple of bad experiences with auto pay this year

What kind of problems? Did they bill you for the wrong amount? I've had autopay on many bills for years and never had this happen but I guess anything is possible.

OT, but what kind of jobs only pay employees once a month?

 

[minnie1928]

OT, but what kind of jobs only pay employees once a month?

My husband works for UPS, he gets paid once a month. At first it was a pain...but now I love it! I have all my payments set up to autodraft about 5 days after his paycheck (that way his check always hits before the bill, taking into account holidays, weekends, etc.). I hardly write any checks anymore and I don't have to worry about a payment getting lost in the mail. Not to mention all the postage expense I'm saving!

 

[WatchinCaptKangaroo]

OT, but what kind of jobs only pay employees once a month?

Off the top of my head schools around here and churches.

 

[mickeyfan2]

I pay my bills and record CC slips once a week.

 

[kfeuer]

What kind of problems? Did they bill you for the wrong amount? I've had autopay on many bills for years and never had this happen but I guess anything is possible.

I remember hearing a couple different people (on the radio) that had problems with their utility companies massively overcharging them for various reasons. Another potential problem can happen if you refinance or sell your home and they draft one payment too many. I personally had my wallet stolen once and it was a pain in the neck having to call everybody I was auto-drafting with. If the same thing happened today, the phone calls I'd have to make would be minimal.

Slightly OT--Clark Howard recommends that people don't carry a checkbook with them anymore because of the potential damage that can be done if it gets stolen. My Dollar Tree has finally started taking debit cards, so I may go ahead and take my checks out of my purse. I only write a couple checks a month as it is.

 

[DVCLiz]

I actually pay very few bills manually. Almost all are either auto-deducted from my checking account or billed to my credit card. I think the more of your bill paying you can automate, the better. It lessens your chance of accidentally missing a bill or paying late. And even if a bill gets lost in the mail, it has already been paid. Plus it frees up your time and saves you money on checks and postage.

Boy, this is exactly what I do and it has been a lifesaver!!! So convenient, and now I don't have to worry about mailing something late - a very bad habit of mine in the past.

I recently got online bill-paying, too, so my Visa and HELOC can be paid immediately, which is another good thing for me!!!

P.S. Who is Clark Howard????

 

[tar heel]

Steve -- lots of jobs pay monthly. I work for a local arts council and am paid monthly. I also was paid monthly at two different colleges and my DH was paid monthly at a third university. In North Carolina, public school employees (teachers/principals/custodians, etc.) get paid monthly.

On the other hand, I was paid WEEKLY in my first job out of college as a newspaper reporter. I think newspapers traditionally paid weekly b/c the pay was so bad.