Do you dread opening your mailbox? Does that stack of bills pile up every month until it becomes an unmanageable heap? An apartment comes with a multitude of different expenses. Besides paying your rent each month, you most likely have to pay your utility bills, which include gas, electric, heat, cable, Internet and any other expenses you are responsible for in your building. Every month I have to keep up-to-date on my utility bills as well as my credit card bill, tuition payment, and rent. Keeping everything in order and paid on time took awhile to get a handle on. Let’s just say I had to pay a few late fees! Here are some tips on how to manage these monthly bills and make it to the end of the month without any extra fees.
1. Stay Organized
My problem is keeping everything organized. With so many bills to pay each month, the biggest challenge I face is just keeping everything in order. Once I started organizing all of my bills and keeping track of what I owed, my life became infinitely easier and my checking account a little heavier. My biggest piece of advice would be to stay organized and always know what you owe.
2. Process Your Mail Right Away
I used to let my mail sit for days (and to be truthful, weeks) when I brought it in from the mailbox. One time my mail piled so high that I accidentally threw my electric bill away with a bunch of old take-out menus and forgot to pay it that month. Now I go through my mail daily and separate the bills from the junk mail.
3. Keep Your Bills in a Designated Place
It’s easier to stay organized when everything is in one place. I keep mine in the top drawer of my desk and at the end of the month when the bills need to be paid I put them in a basket by the front door so I never forget them on my way out in the morning.
4. Designate a Specific Time to Pay Your Bills
Procrastination never helped me in school and it certainly hasn’t helped when it comes to paying bills. I’ve learned that if I set time aside each month, I’m less stressed out. I usually set time aside on the weekend when I have less going on to pay my bills and review my bank balance.
5. Pay Your Bills Online
Almost every utility company and bank offers you the ability to pay your bills online. Paying online is more convenient and saves you the trip of having to walk to the mailbox. Go one step further and see if your landlord will let you pay your rent online. It’s one less bill you will have to worry about keeping track of at the end of the month.
Guest post by WilliamPaid.com. WilliamPaid lets renters & roomies pay rent online, automatically, with more flexibility and it’s FREE. Users can also build credit with each rent payment.
