![]() Or, if you don’t like the idea of mixing “bill time” with leisure time, you can use a completely separate calendar app to manage your finances. If you’re already a calendar app user, consider creating a sub-calendar with your bill payment schedule. Personal finance apps can be helpful, but when it comes down to it, a generic calendar app is enough to help you stay on track. Is the app compatible with other apps you use (e.g., your digital calendar)?.Is the app supported by your financial institution?.Is the app secure? (This is specially important if you need to input your personal or banking information.).Does the app use a notification system to remind you of upcoming bills? Can you customize those notifications?.Is it a calendar-based, spreadsheet-based or list-based app?.These questions may help you in your search: If you have to pay for an app, do some research to understand the extent of its features before you buy it. If the apps are free, download a bunch of them and take a quick tour to see which one you like best. Although there are several stand-alone bill payment apps to choose from, you might also consider looking into more comprehensive budgeting apps that include bill management as a feature. If your smartphone is basically an extension of your body, using an app might be the best way to manage your bills. ![]() Luckily, there are so many ways to manage your bills that it’s easy to customize a system that works well for you. Now you need a system to keep track of it all. So, you have your regularly scheduled “bill time” and you have a stack of bills. It’s the best way to eliminate the “out of sight, out of mind” problem that so many of us have with our bills.It keeps you organized and aware of your payment schedule.It saves time by allowing you to tackle several payments at once.It creates a routine that’s easy to follow.Sticking to the same day and time for “bill time” is important: Look ahead to see what your payment schedule looks like the following week and month.Mark those bills as paid (and revel in your self-satisfaction).Pay those bills (this could be a combination of paying them online and/or writing out checks and addressing envelopes).See what bills need to be paid that day.Input the bill totals and their due dates into your calendar (or notebook, or spreadsheet, or budgeting app).Locate and/or print out any e-bills received that week.Gather up any bills received that week (especially the ones that like hiding under your junk mail).It can be as simple as 15 minutes, once a week. No matter how you keep track of your bills, you still need to take the time to manage them. It takes a lot of wrangling to get them all under control.īills may not stick to a routine, but you sure can. They all have different due dates, some are delivered to your mailbox and others to your inbox, some need to be paid monthly and others yearly, and some have amounts that fluctuate. And leading the pack in the not-so-fun category: bills.īills tend to sneak up on us because they don’t fit nicely into a routine. Others-like killing spiders yourself-are not so fun. Some of those things-like not having to share a bathroom-are wonderful. It means having independence and all the things that come with it. Living on your own for the first time can be empowering.
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