anyone pay bills AHEAD??

[Grumpy's Gal]

what if you had them auto paid with your DISNEY VISA? That way, you'd earn points and also you 'd only need to use one stamp.

 

[dizneefamily5]

As an Accountant, I can tell you this is a bad idea. Companies are begging for people that will do this! They love it for obviuos reasons! Here's what we do when we want to "pay ahead". We have a small account with our credit union that only requires a $50 balance. WE transfer "bill money" to this account periodically and have bills set up to come out automatically on their due date. THis way, I have my money as long as possible, not them. We also know that everything will always be paid on time. THis is not a checking account so once the money is there, we can not get it out unless we physically go to the credit union and make a withdrawal, which we have never done. THis works for us and I can tell you that in college, we were required to do an analysis of the cost of doing just this over several years plus the gain the company received and I was floored! I swore then and there that I would never do this.

 

[mudnuri]

As an Accountant, I can tell you this is a bad idea. Companies are begging for people that will do this! They love it for obviuos reasons! Here's what we do when we want to "pay ahead". We have a small account with our credit union that only requires a $50 balance. WE transfer "bill money" to this account periodically and have bills set up to come out automatically on their due date. THis way, I have my money as long as possible, not them. We also know that everything will always be paid on time. THis is not a checking account so once the money is there, we can not get it out unless we physically go to the credit union and make a withdrawal, which we have never done. THis works for us and I can tell you that in college, we were required to do an analysis of the cost of doing just this over several years plus the gain the company received and I was floored! I swore then and there that I would never do this.

tell me please, what my phone company is going to make on 350 and my power company on 350? I certainly dont think its much.

if you take my 6 stamps for each- at 37 cents a stamp..well I'm not going to make that in interest, and this way its one stamp each.

I have called them to make sure I can do this and Thursday will be doing exactly what I stated in my original post. Financial loss is not even existant when you take the 5 stamps each im saving...

Thanks everyone for your words of encouragement...just got my state grant award YEAH!!!! Now the books are covered, and there is about 400 left!!! YEAH YEAH YEAH!

Brandy

 

[Anastasia]

tell me please, what my phone company is going to make on 350 and my power company on 350? I certainly dont think its much.

if you take my 6 stamps for each- at 37 cents a stamp..well I'm not going to make that in interest, and this way its one stamp each.

I have called them to make sure I can do this and Thursday will be doing exactly what I stated in my original post. Financial loss is not even existant when you take the 5 stamps each im saving...

Thanks everyone for your words of encouragement...just got my state grant award YEAH!!!! Now the books are covered, and there is about 400 left!!! YEAH YEAH YEAH!

Brandy

Okay - I ran the numbers. The best return I can find on a money market account is ING at 3.15%. Interest on the $700, assuming that balance is reduced by $116/month for six months for the bills that you pay, is $4.59.
Two stamps a month for 6 months is $4.44. So it is "costing" you $.15.
What is the cost of NOT having that money available to pay that bill?

I would normally not recommend paying bills this way either (I am an accountant also). But financial management is not a one size fits all thing. YOU have evaluated your situation and YOUR habits. You are looking at a relatively short period of time (6 months). You are in school, and this is a temporary thing also. You are buying yourself a lot of peace of mind for $.15.

You are being very responsible, and it sounds to me like you are evaluating every possible avenue to make things work financially and also for your family. Congratulations on going to school, so that in the future things will be better for you and your children financially. I give you a lot of credit for doing that. You are looking at the long term, and trying to make things better for yourself in the future. Congratulations too on getting your state grant!