Tips For Paying Bills On Time

With so many people losing their jobs, it's not hard to see why so many Americans are falling behind on their bills: they simply don't have the means to pay them! But for many folks, paying bills on time is just a matter of getting organized and working out a system. Here are some tips to help you maintain a good credit rating by paying your creditors properly.

-- Open bills when they arrive. Even if you know the payment isn't due for a couple of weeks, perusing its contents early will give you the time you need to contest unexpected charges. Take the time to compare this bill with prior ones, receipts, past statements, etc. If you think something is wrong, call the company immediately to sort it all out. This way, you can have an issue resolved before the bill is due and without having to pay late fees.

-- Create your own filing system. When a bill arrives and you've opened it and looked it over, replace it in the envelope and write the due date for the payment on the outside of the envelope. Keep a special container just for bills: preferably an envelope sorting type sold on the office supply aisle of grocery stores. You can file your bills in chronological order: with the most pressing ones in front and working backwards.

-- If you pay your bills by mail, set aside a special day dedicated just to paying bills. You can arrange with your creditors to have the due dates come around the same time of the month if this is easiest for you. Getting into the habit of having a particular "bill paying day" will keep you from forgetting this task.

-- Set up online automatic payment accounts whenever possible. This is an extremely simple thing to do, and it will save you a lot of time in the long run since you are not writing out checks. The money is simply routed to the creditor at the same time each month, and a notification is sent to you. If you prefer a more hands-on approach, you can make bill payments by hand each month using your bank's online system.

-- Consolidate your obligations as much as possible in one place. For example, one of the most common tax bills that is overlooked is the property tax. It is owed once a year at a designated time, and if you haven't been including money for it with your mortgage, it can really come up and bite your wallet by surprise. If you don't pay this debt, the tax collector can put a lien on your property until you do.

The easiest thing to do is to pay your mortgage lender an extra amount every month and have him put it into an escrow account. That money is set aside specifically for property tax obligations, so when the time comes, you will have the funds to pay them. In the meantime, if you are currently delinquent on paying your property taxes, you may wish to consider getting a loan on that amount from an independent agent in order to avoid fees and penalties.

Getting control of your monthly and yearly bills is not as hard as you may think: getting organized just takes a little self-discipline and the willingness to take the time to develop a system that works.

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