Acing: Bill Pay, A Modern Aces Model to Great Money Management

Plan:

Make a Schedule. Know what bills are covered by Paycheck #1 and the rest to be covered by Paycheck #2.

Do not wait. Just because its due on the 20th does not mean you have to wait till the 20th to pay. If you paycheck is considerable earlier than the due date of your bill go ahead and pay it. Paying all your bills closer to the day your receive your check leaves little room for error. It also give you an accurate picture of whats remaining if you have all your bills drafting out of the account within the same week. Companies will also appreciate this and you can avoid any late fees this way as well.

Some say, if you are on time you are late.

Separate your money. Some banks, like Capital One 360, allow you to create multiple savings account. I’ve found this to be extremely helpful. Especially for big bills that I split by pay check or putting money aside for tax bills. This can also be used to save for big purchases ie. next-gen gaming consoles 😊.

 

 Pay:

Bill Pay with your bank. Most banks offer free bill pay. Pros: Avoid processing fees. You control when the money comes out and from where. Cons: This is usually a check mailed to the company or individual of your choice. For these times of payments to arrive on time you must plan accordingly. I use the reminders app on my phone to alert me of upcoming bills.

Bill Pay with Mint Bills for iOS. I have been using mint for several years and they more recently acquired Check and now have Mint Bills. The app allows you to login to your bill & utilities account to keep track & pay your bills in the app. You can schedule payment or make one time payments on the fly. You can also use it to make a P2P (person to person) payment.

Automatic Payments. If you are comfortable with the companies you use drafting from your account this may be an option for you. When using this option if you are not current on the bill still set the automatic payment to the minimum amount due and manually make the extra payments when you are sure you have the cash to cover it.

 

 

 Avoid Spending Extra Money.

• Do not overdraft and be forced to pay fixed overdraft fees.
• Avoid late fees.
• Avoid service/processing fees.
• Avoid, at all costs, living beyond your means.