Paying bills on time saves you money in at least two ways. First, when you pay by the due date you avoid late fees, which can significantly ramp up your costs. Next, paying on time helps you avoid credit blemishes which in turn tarnish your credit history and lower your credit score. Poor credit scores attract the least favorable interest rates and fees on loans and credit cards. If you have a poor credit score you will likely pay several thousand dollars more in interest and fees than would another borrower with a stronger credit score. Resist the temptation to become complacent because you have gotten the loan at a great rate. Your creditors will monitor your account periodically to see how you are managing your accounts. Just one late payment to one creditor can trigger an interest rate increase from all your creditors even though you have paid their accounts in a timely manner.
It is easy to see how paying bills on time will save money in both the long and short term. What may be more difficult to see however is how to find the time to gather the bills, write the checks, get the checks in the mail and balance the account. We are all so busy these days and bill paying can seem like just one more chore. Technology has come to your rescue. Following are some ways that technology can help you manage your bills and make it easier to pay them on time – every time.
Online banking and bill pay
The good news is that bill paying need no longer be a time consuming chore. Online banking and bill pay are services offered by banks to depositors; usually at no cost. Online banking and bill pay does require some initial set up. You will need to gather all of your bills and enter information about payment addresses and account numbers online. The information will be stored so that each time you are ready to make a payment you simply point and click. You will not have to be concerned with stamps or checks. Your bank will make sure that your payment is delivered, usually within two business days. For fixed expenses you might want to consider signing up for payments that are automatically debited from your account. Your mortgage lender, for example can deduct your monthly payment from your account on the date that you specify with no further action from you. As long as you have enough money in your account you will never have to worry that your payment will be late.
Email notification
Many lenders will be happy to send you an email reminder of payment notification. This can be helpful if dates tend to just fly out of your head or the days just seem to get away from you.
The World Wide Web
Even if you don’t want to sign on for online banking you can still pay your bills via the Internet. Many vendors such as credit card and utility companies accept payments via their websites. It takes only a few minutes to register for online access. Simply provide identifying and account information, choose a username and password and that’s it. Each time you are ready to make a payment just log onto your account. Many sites even include a copy of your bill and payment history, and some allow you to save your bank information so that you can log on and make your payment in just a few seconds. You can often get credit for your payment the very same day.