Keeping organised is imperative
It’s important to pay your bills on time, not only because it saves you hassle but because it can actually save you money. Keeping organised is the best way to ensure you do not miss any payments.
Getting started
Firstly, have some form of filing system which you can put all of your bills straight into, separate from the rest of the post that you receive. It is best to organise these in order of importance (so that no urgent payments are late), and it is useful to set reminders on your phone or calendar.
Next should be the process of calculating how much you expect to pay out during the year, and planning your income savings accordingly. This will make it much easier for you to know how much you can spend each month, and avoid financial difficulties.
Decide how to make your payments
There are a number of different ways which you can utilise to pay your bills. Paying by Direct Debit ensures that payments are always made on time, protecting you from late payment charges. With this option, companies may offer you discounts, and you don’t need to worry much about keeping on top of the payments, or keeping up with price changes.
However, the final point can also be negative, as you will not always know how much you are paying each month, as well as the date of each payment. For tight budgets, you also run the risk of going into the red should you have an unexpectedly large bill paid automatically.
If you want to be able to control how much you pay out, and when, then you may wish to pay online or by phone. However, this means you must always remember to pay your bills on time and that you may not receive discounts from companies.
Always ensure you make a record of when a bill has been paid, and which ones still need paying. For any cheque payments, write the payment details on the stubs. This is a very simple but effective way of keeping organised.
Find out which providers and banks are best
There are a number of things that you can do to cut your costs, mainly involving you looking at different suppliers for better rates. The main ones to look out for are your providers for broadband, electricity, gas and telephone services. Other tips include trying to reduce the amount of gas and electricity you use each day.
It is recommended to create a savings account and have a standing order so that you save a set amount each month. This money will then be able to cover ‘one-off’ costs such as a holiday, Christmas or emergency repairs.
If you find that keeping organised is a struggle, and experience difficulty keeping up with your bills, you are strongly urged to make contact with your providers, who may be able to adjust their repayment plan to help you out.
