HOW TO ORGANIZE YOUR MONTHLY BILLS & PAY ON TIME

How To Organize Your Monthly Bills & Pay On Time

Are you looking for a way to organize your bills? Do you often forget to pay a bill each month? Below, you will find several ways to get organized with paying your monthly bills.

Create a Family Bill Pay System

One way to get organized when it comes to paying your monthly bills is to create a system. You need a system which works for you and your family. So, read further for some ideas to incorporate into your family bill-paying system.

Organize your Paper Bills

Organize your paper bills to keep your monthly paper bills in one place. You can choose the location that works for you. Some busy moms and dads place all their incoming paper bills into a file folder. Moreover, the file is pulled out once or twice a month to view statements due. Paper bills can also be placed into a monthly manila envelope or desk basket.

Mark Your Bill Envelopes

When the paper bill comes in, take a red marker, and place the due date on the outside of the envelope. This will provide a visual as to when the bill is scheduled at one glance.

Another quick option is to use a bill checker printable. The printable should list all your bills paid monthly. Other options which can be printed on the printable include the following:

· Name of bill

· Amount of bill (average payment if it varies)

· Whether it is paid automatically

· For a yearly sheet – consists of each month of the year

· Notes section if needed

You can always add other sections depending on what you would like in your bill pay printable checklist. One could also include a balance section to show the new balance of the bill after payment for the month.

Ways to Organize your Digital Bills

Paying online is a great way to save time. There are ways to organize your digital bills more efficiently. One way is to have all your electronic bills come to one email address. You may even consider setting up an email address strictly for electronic statements only. This keeps the emails separate from your personal emails and your work emails.

Download online statements regularly. Place them into a bill folder on your computer. Or, if you like to file paper bills, then print them out and file accordingly. Keep like bills together – for example, keep all the cell phone bills/records in one location or folder. This helps with staying organized in the long run.

Scheduled Bill Pay Time

Always plan time each month to pay your bills. For our family, this is on the 1st of each month. I take the time to be seated and balance the checkbook before paying bills. Then, I pay each of my monthly bills. If an invoice has not come in yet, I make a note where I will see it to remind me I have one more bill coming in which needs to be paid. For our family, this is the electric bill – it is the only bill which comes in the mail one week after I have paid the other bills.

I also use a list I have created on an index card – with all my bills listed. So, I can double-check to make sure I have paid every bill each month. This is the easiest way for me, and maybe it will be the best way for you.

Other Ways to Organize Your Monthly Bills

There are many diverse ways to organize your monthly bills. Some people like to use a notebook with monthly pockets for bills. They may have one side of the bill pay notebook – for unpaid bills and one side for paid bills. In other words, when a bill is paid – it will be moved to the paid bill pocket.

Create a Bill Pay Notebook

Another option is creating a bill pay notebook. In the notebook, you can have the following options:

· Zipper pocket (for small calculator, pens)

· Pocket pages (for bills, receipts, notes)

· Dividers (monthly bills, quarterly bills, yearly bills, holiday spending, special occasions)

· Budget sheets, savings plan, monthly bill checklist

· Paper for notes and goals (debt reduction, spending goals, so forth)

· Expense tracking section

· Financial records (for more in-depth notebooks)

Using Automatic Payments for Monthly Bills

Using automatic payments for monthly bills is a great time saver. Most of our monthly bills come out of a designated checking account each month. Then, we only have a few bills to pay online or write a check for – yes, we still use checks from time to time.

Monthly Bill Pay Tips

Once you have created a system which works for you and your family, then use a few of these monthly bills tips to stay organized:

· Be dedicated to using your system of bill paying

· Make adjustments if needed to find what works best for you and your family

· Always have a list of monthly bills to be paid as well as quarterly payments

· Create a yearly list of bills – for those items which need to be paid only once a year – view this list monthly to ensure every invoice is paid when due

· Use a calendar to list your bills (paper or online calendar) & set reminders

· Create an account on an online site which can be helpful, such as Mint.com

· Prepay bills when possible, especially if you are going out of town or on vacation during your scheduled bill pay time

· File monthly bills after paying them

· File receipts you need to keep long term

· Use online bill pay with your financial institution

· Review billing statements to ensure they are correct each month

· If you tend to overspend each month after paying the bills, consider using an envelope system – place budgeted amount of cash in labeled envelopes for specific categories such as eating out, buying clothing, and personal entertainment

What is Your Favorite Bill Pay Tips?

Do you have any bill pay tips you would like to share with us? How do you organize your bills to pay each month? We would love to hear your thoughts!