Automatic payments & keeping track

One of the best ways to keep on top of your finances is to set up automatic payments or online bill pay. If you have a credit card and you’re still paying each bill with a check, you may fall in the trap of forgetting a payment or not paying the amount you really should.

If you haven’t set up automatic payments for all your bills just yet, there is no better time than now. You can set the payment to automatically pay the full balance on your statement or another amount. Of course I recommend paying the full balance all the time every time, but if you can’t afford to, you can also pay an amount that is either equal to or more than the minimum. Always pay the bill in full, and if you cannot, then at least pay more than the minimum. (If this is a problem for you, you may need to read about lesson #1).

If you are afraid that setting up automatic payments will make you forget how much you owe, and then subsequently leave you with less in your bank account than you need to make that automatic payment, you should take this one step further and keep a calendar (either on your wall, in a planner, on your phone or on your computer) and keep track of the day of the month the automatic payment typically gets deducted from your bank account.

Also set yourself up with your credit card account’s email reminders for when a payment is due, or how much you owe, so each month you can prepare for the day the amount is deducted from your checking account balance. This way you can ensure there is always enough money in your bank account for payment day!