When do you pay bills?

[dbow2000]

When do you pay your utilities, car payments, money to savings, etc? Do you pay them all on a certain day of the month. Do you base it on what day you get paid? Do you base it on what day they are due?

I'm sure there are many ways to do this, but curious what some of you do and why?

I've tried it several different ways, but normally on our paydays I pay everything due between then and the next payday.

[bjl584]

I pay them weekly. As a result, sometimes bills end up getting paid a little early, but not by much. I never pay anything late or on the due date.

No real reason other than it makes it easier for me to manage and keep track of everything.

[disneysteve]

Most of our bills are paid automatically either billed to the credit card or auto-debit from our checking account.

The only bills I pay manually are the credit card bills and the mortgage. I generally schedule the mortgage payment to be made about a week before the due date. I typically pay the credit card bills when they come just to get them out of the way. The only exception is the occasional month when we have a particularly high bill (usually travel-related) in which case I may wait for a paycheck to get deposited.

[Fishindude77]

No real routine.
Pay them as they come in, based on when due.

[97guns]

Utilities are deducted automatically. The only bills I manually pay are CC bills, usually 2-3 different accounts monthly when I am billed

My mom likes to hang on to her money until the last second(or week) and she has forgotten a few times, by the time she remembered again they were already late or getting too close, for that reason I don't wait for the last second, I pay them as they come in, late fees is flushing money down the drain

[phantom]

I let my husband handle making sure most of the bills get paid. He tends to set up a payment for a few days before the bill is due as soon as he gets it.

The only bills I handle are the HSA, the mortgage, and the Amazon card. The HSA and mortage are same amounts due at the same times every month, so I just have them on auto pay. The Amazon card only gets used occasionally, and I always pay it off as soon as I make a purchase with it so I don't forget.

[Jluke]

Same day as the new billing cycle hits (electronically) or out to the mailbox the following day if a bill arrives in the mail.


I don't wait until the due date to pay.
.

[Like2Plan]

When do you pay your utilities, car payments, money to savings, etc? Do you pay them all on a certain day of the month. Do you base it on what day you get paid? Do you base it on what day they are due?

I'm sure there are many ways to do this, but curious what some of you do and why?

I've tried it several different ways, but normally on our paydays I pay everything due between then and the next payday.

Interesting question. I have changed the way I pay bills over the years. Except for 1 utility and credit cards everything else is automatic.

I try to bill to a credit card to get rewards as much as possible(if there is no additional fee for it)

Credit cards: I pay those as soon as the billing cycle closes. I have the closing date set for the end of the month (when I get paid).

Savings: comes out of paycheck directly and also I save some every payday (one category: Christmas, for example).

[dbow2000]

I feel that technology has definitely changed how folks approach this. I remember years ago, my father-in-law sat in his office for 1 day at the end of the month and put together all of his bills for the upcoming month and mailed them out early to make sure they got there on time. Now, a couple of clicks and it's done - a lot easier to keep them from being late.

[disneysteve]

I feel that technology has definitely changed how folks approach this.

Definitely. Years ago, paying bills meant writing checks and mailing them. Now, almost everything is on auto-pay and I don't have to do anything at all. The bills just get paid automatically. It sure makes my life easier.

[rennigade]

I pay them whenever I receive them...minus my car insurance. Thats not due until late april...and I plan on signing up for a rewards credit card. Easy $400 on that card.

We received our property taxes (house in PA.) It was the first bill of 2...not sure why its done like that. Anyway it was only $1250 (if paid early.) If paid later in the year the bill went up around $150. My cousin waits to pay his...he's terrible with money of course. We already sent the check in.

[Jluke]

We received our property taxes (house in PA.) It was the first bill of 2...not sure why its done like that.

Guessing your 2nd bill is related to the school property tax. The schools do not finalize their budgets until June and those tax bills are sent out July 1 or thereabout. Thus the 2 bills for PA residents.

[rennigade]

Guessing your 2nd bill is related to the school property tax. The schools do not finalize their budgets until June and those tax bills are sent out July 1 or thereabout. Thus the 2 bills for PA residents.

That sounds right. The 2nd one is usually 3x higher than the first. Not complaining since ill be all in around $4500...compared to those in high property tax places like jersey. No thanks.

[TexasHusker]

I generally try to pay bills when they are due. I don't know why, but regardless of when I pay them, I still end up owing the same amount.

[disneysteve]

regardless of when I pay them, I still end up owing the same amount.

True. The bill is the same whether you pay it on the day it arrives or on the day it's due. Back in the day when savings accounts paid 5% interest, it made sense to wait until the last minute. Today, when most accounts pay a fraction of one percent, holding the money those extra days doesn't really make much difference. Our checking account isn't interest-bearing so I'd just assume pay the bill right away and be done with it.

That said, almost all of our bills are paid automatically and those transactions usually happen on or very close to the due date.