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Any of you prepay utility bills?

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  • Any of you prepay utility bills?

    I have one bill that is annoying...city water/garbage that requires me to write and mail a check each month for less than $50. I have started to just pay them $300 every 6 months so I run a negative balance.

    Maybe not the most *SavingAdvice* type of philosophy but hey, I do save over $2 in stamps every 6 months which is like getting a 1.3% return on my $300 I have tied up.

  • #2
    I don't prepay anything but I do use the budget billing for gas and electric where I pay a flat amount every month rather than the actual usage. Some months, that means I pay more than I owe. Other months, I pay less than I owe.
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    • #3
      I don't prepay any utility bills, but that's just because all of them are on automatic payment. I look at the balance (and I actually plat my utility usage by month just because I'm a nerd and it's fun to see), but I have them billed to my credit card or pulled from my checking account. Every bill that I can't put on my card or my account gets "bill paid" through my bank so I don't pay for stamps or have to mail anything.

      However, the one bill that I do pay "by hand" I prepay. The tennis club bills me monthly for things like lessons and clinics and quarterly for dues. They accept cards, but I have to go to the pro shop to do it, and I don't like that I might forget to go one month, so every quarter I just have them charge a couple hundred above our dues and that usually takes care of the smaller bills for the next three months.

      So I just try to automate everything that I possibly can.

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      • #4
        I'd probably do the same. You are saving stamps, and not like bank interest amounts to a hill of beans these days.

        I'm historically more of a bill pre-payer, but ever since online bill pay, I tend to date my payments closer to the due date. (Just simply because I can set to pay way ahead of time, while setting the payment date close to the due date). That lessens the motivation to part with my money sooner. I don't have to mail in any of my payments, so I don't have any stamp saving motivation.

        The only bill I regularly pay many months ahead of time is kids' school lunch, because the more payments I make the more fees I pay. I just put in $100 per kid, twice per year. I am wary to prepay much more than that because I am guessing the school district is a nightmare to get refunds from (just the general beuracracy). It would probably make more financial sense to just pre-pay once per year.

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        • #5
          I'm like BuckyBadger -- I don't prepay anything (except my prepaid cell phone plan). Because I travel often and unpredictably with the military, I have all of my bills set for auto-draft from my checking or credit card. That way if the jet breaks & I'm stuck somewhere unexpected (I've been stuck everywhere from Korea to Georgia to Maine) with no computer access, my bills will all be paid on time. I do this with as many bills as possible -- mortgage, gas, water/trash, electric, internet, credit cards, everything.

          I know that some people are nervous about allowing companies/utilities to auto-draft from checking, but I see it as a necessity & convenience, and I monitor my bills & bank accounts closely to ensure accuracy. No stamps, no remembering to make payments, nothing. Whenever I look at my bills & accounts, I can check that it's correct, and be done with minimal interference to my daily life.

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          • #6
            KPT, have you verified city doesn't do automatic withdraw or do you hesitate to use that service? Like others, our regular bills are on automatic withdraw for peace of mind. My one extra step is to note sums on cell's calendar from incoming bills so DH can easily monitor spending and upcoming payments.

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            • #7
              KPT, have you verified city doesn't do automatic withdraw or do you prefer not to use that service? Like others, our regular bills are on automatic withdraw for peace of mind. My one extra step is to note sums on cell's calendar from incoming bills so DH can easily monitor spending and upcoming payments.

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              • #8
                I only prepay one bill and it is for a reason similar to KTP. My gas bill is so ridiculously low in the summer that I just cut a check for about $30 in June, and then I don't have to do anything with them until about October.

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                • #9
                  When I was single and living outside the Houston city limits, I had to send in a check by mail for my garbage collection. This bill was about $14 per month. The stamp was right around $0.50 per month.. So, I figured I was saving over 2% by paying 3 months at a time. Later, I called and asked about a discount for paying a year in advance. No joy, there.

                  With online billing (free), I pay the amount due. With small bills that I have to mail, I pay them in advance. It's half for the convenience of sending the payment less often, and half for the slight savings of paying less for postage and envelopes.

                  Also, when I would be traveling for an extended period, I'd send in sometimes three or four times my other bills right before I left. If I'm gone for three months, I don't want any surprises coming my way when I get back (like electricity being cut off). With online bill payment, these worries are behind me. It used to be impossible to mail a check for the right amount from Singapore. Now, it's just click and send.

                  Now that I live in Houston (domicile, not residence), I just have DW pay the bills, and as long as they aren't late, I don't care how she pays.

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by BuckyBadger View Post
                    I don't prepay any utility bills, but that's just because all of them are on automatic payment.
                    Same here.

                    I don't pay monthly bills any more - it's all automatic. The only bills I need to take manual action for are annual or bi-annual (property taxes, home/auto insurance, auto registration).
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                    • #11
                      Our town is too small, too cheap to have an automatic payment system so everything has to be done by check or cash.

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