How do you remember to pay bills?

[msarro]

I personally use my budget to do it. Its a simple spreadsheet which keeps track of each of my bills, their due dates, as well as my income, savings, etc. I check it once a week to keep everything updated.

[couchrobt]

I guess I was the only old school boy here. hehe.. not that it's bad. Just do what really works well for you and pay those bills on time to avoid mischief!

[msnln]

I use excel spreadsheet. I list all incoming and outgoing funds chronologically and make projection of how much I will have in my account one to two months into the future. As soon as I receive the bill, I enter payment through the online payment system for couple of days before the due date and record in the spreadsheet.

This way, I will know exactly how much I should have in the account going forward and use funds more efficiently (ie. temprarily parking funds in savings to pick up little interest over few days).

[jerrycates]

The excel list is a good way too. Organization is actually the key here. It does not necessarily mean that one's strategy works for the other. Do which makes you feel comfy.

[couchrobt]

I think no matter the way we remind ourselves to not forget responsibility would depend on our lifestyle. If you are so busy, auto credit is best. If you can spare some computer tinkering, excel is good. However, alarms would be great too!

[ukgaz]

I use gmail calender to keep track of all bills

[Cassius King]

Originally Posted by Radiance

I am paid twice a month, so I pay all bills due until my next pay check every time I get paid.
Have never missed a bill since I do that. I pay from a checking account so I am not even losing interest or anything.

When I get paid, I check the ones on automatic have gone correctly and pay the manual ones. FYI, I consider my savings a bill, that is the first one I pay!

This is exactly how I operate as well.

[greenskeeper]

I'm probably no help, but I pay all of my bills for the next month at the end of the current month.

I do this with online billpay (set up for the date each bill is due) and cannot remember the last time I physically wrote a check to pay a bill.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I pay bills once a month on the first. I used to get paid once a month so bills get paid once a month.

[steveaz67]

Easy... I have my girlfriend do it!

[jteezie]

I have everything paid automatically on credit cards which then automatically pays from my checking account. I check for fraudulent charges once a quarter by logging into my accounts and browsing all my statements. There's no need for spreadsheets because my credit card statement keeps track of it all.

Why this works for me. I naturally keep track of my money in my head and never spend more than I earn. If my checking account gets too high, I transfer the money elsewhere o I keep my spending down because this lower account amount limits how much I can pay for with credit cards.

[jteezie]

PS. Student loans following you forever is a good thing. It means you'll never need a fixed credit account (mortgage, car loan, etc) to boost your credit history.

Besides it is probably really bad practice to even have bankruptcy to erase all your debts be a fallback plan. Not to mention it avoids social responsibility. You should always be responsible for your own debts (if you buy into/believe in our economic system).

[KiwiJo09]

Originally Posted by mom-from-missouri

I have a special bill calendar and I write them (company and $$) on the calendar on the date it should be mailed, or if online, the date to pay it.

That. I do that.