Tips for managing your bills

Open up a secondary checking account for monthly bills only. Choose a bank that offers "no fee" account and also offers on line bill payment. (DO NOT get a debit card for this account)
Determine what your regular monthly expenses are and divide them by your pay period. For instance if you are paid weekly you would divide by 4, biweekly divide by 2. Your initial deposit should equal one quarter of your monthly bills as a "buffer". Then set up your online bill payment feature. Once set up the bill payment feature automatically sends the designated dollar figure to your creditor on the day you have specified. Make sure the date you specify allows for transfer time from your bank to the creditor.
Each pay period deposit or transfer this dollar figure into your "bills" accounts. If your employer is set up for direct deposit take advantage of it. Very often you can split your direct deposit into three accounts, specified as a fixed dollar amount or percentage of your check.

Household expenses: Your electric, heat, phone, cable bills can vary from month to month sometimes putting you over your monthly budget. There are two things you can do to help keep those in line. 1st, most electric and heating companies offer budget plans. These plans use a monthly average of your prior year’s expenditures. Take advantage of this, they are usually free and many allow for automatic withdrawals for free as well. 2nd, using the same monthly average system for your phone, cable etc.. This allows for a fixed payment rather than a varied payment monthly.

Remember to always set aside some money for incidentals. You never know if your refrigerator will stop working or your washer and dryer. These are unexpected costs, that can happen to any appliance. By having a little money set aside for these types of occurences, it will help you stay on track with your monthly bills. This way you will not fall behind at all, because once you fall behind it becomes that much more difficult to get caught up.

First write down every single bill you have. Once you have an honest view of all your bills, you can implement management techniques.

Ignoring or disregarding your creditors won't make them go away nor help your situation... The mounting interest charges and late fees will add up quickly and take you over the edge even quicker than if you simply faced them and answer their calls diplomatically.

Most creditors would rather settle amicably and work out a payment plan with you instead of hiring a debt collection agency or taking the case to the courts.

Paying your bills online might help as well.

» DISCLAIMER: The information contained in this article on 'Tips for managing your bills' is a collection of contributions by licensed mortgage professionals and is not the opinion of Broker Outpost LLC. Always consult a licensed professional before applying for a mortgage.