Bill Organization
Remembering to pay all the bills each month is a great skill to learn but how do you remember the quarterly bills that need paying or the ones less frequent than that? You might think this sounds daunting, but really, it is quite simple. Bill organization can help keep your finances on track too.
Simplicity of bill organization
Once you realise how simple bill control is you will never miss a bill again. It is important that you start at the beginning to compile a list of all the bills that you pay. Looking back at your statements on your bank account will jog your memory as to some of the bills. If you pay them by direct debt, it is possible to get a print out of these and it should give you details of the company you are paying.
Go through each bill and direct debt and make sure that you still need to pay the premium; it is often surprising the amount of direct debts paid each month and are no longer relevant. Once you have perfected your list, make sure that you note those bills paid monthly and those paid less frequently.
Use this list when you plan your monthly budget every month, don’t assume you know what is due, always check. This will keep the finances on track.
Bill storage
The storage of your bills is key to bill organization on the computer or in your filing cabinet. If you have your bills sent electronically, save them to an electronic file, don’t print them out because then you need to file them in the physical world too. When you receive a bill, read it and file it in a place on your computer or cold storage device like a memory stick.
If you receive the bill in the post then it is important that you read the bill, pay the bill and file the bill. You should have an individual file for each company you use and this is either a hanging file or a ring binder; remove any of the junk information from the bill, often they come with literature, recycle this and file the bill.
It is important that you file bills in date order, this ensures if you need to check on a previous bill they are easy to find.
To make identification easier you can colour code your files, utilities one colour and credit card bills another; this will ensure that finding the right file will be easy and you can quickly keep on top of any filing that you need to do.
It is important that you are not afraid of the bills that you have coming into the home, tackle them head on, even if you owe money; hiding from your bills is not going to make the amount you owe, reduce. Taking control of your finances and the bills that you have coming into the home will make you face up to the bills; if you have any problems then seek help from the companies sooner rather than later, you might be surprised at the help and advice that you get. It is also a great idea to visit the Citizens Advice Bureau to make sure that you have taken into account your complete financial picture.
