With cell phones, car insurance, internet and TV service, dozens of online subscriptions for entertainment, movies and TV, credit card bills and house or rent payments, that’s a lot of different due dates you need to keep track of. Not to mention all the bills not mentioned here. Most companies now offer the choice to pay bills online and most banks offer automatic bill paying services for a small fee. So why should or shouldn’t you take part in these programs? If you’re an organized person who never forgets to pay bills, you may want to continue like that. If you’re like me though, you forget things like paying bills on time easily and being able to pay bills without thinking about it would prove an invaluable service.
Does the list of bill above describe you? If so, you may too busy earning enough money to pay for all of that to keep track of payment due dates. With automatic bill pay though, you’ll know you’re paying everything you’re supposed to without keeping that pile of dates clear. The main pro of bill pay is that it’s a lot more convenient. Your bills will just be paid. A busy work week or vacation won’t cause late or delayed payments ever and you can rest easy knowing you’re not behind in any payments.
No matter what your credit score is, you could also use automatic bill pay to improve your credit. If you set up bill pay through your credit card, paying your bills can benefit you in a couple ways. First, as long as you’re paying your credit card bill on time, you’ll build up your credit score through the use and on-time payments. Secondly, if you have a rewards program with your credit card, paying your bills can earn you points. Automatic bill pay with your credit card would kill three birds with one stone if done correctly.
We’ve all heard the saying “time is money” in which case automatic bill pay would save you both. You’ll never be late paying–unless one of those rare internet snafus occurs–so you’ll save money and without having to log into every different account separately and keep track of all bills due, you’ll have some extra time on your hands. You’ll also be helping save trees by not wasting paper on monthly bills.
Automatic bill pay isn’t the best option for everyone though because it does make it easier to lose track of accounts and your money. It’s a lot easier to overdraw your account if you’re not keeping a close eye on your funds which will end up costing you a lot more money than it’s worth. If you have rejected payments, you’ll owe your bank and the company extra fees.
As much as we all love the internet, there are sometimes errors on it. So if you’re not paying close attention, the internet could mess up on your payment, making it late or not happen at all. If you pay your bills yourself, you know they’re paid.
Most banks also charge for their bill pay services so if you’re the type who doesn’t have trouble keeping up on bills, avoiding that extra fee would save you more money.
When deciding which option is best for you, carefully weigh your personality against the pros and cons laid out here. Automatic bill pay does come with perks from pure convenience to credit score improvements with credit cards but it can create more problems for some. if you keep careful track of your funds and trust yourself not paying your bills every month, automatic bill pay was created for you.
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