Bills, bills, bills. Anyone else brought back to 1999 and the Destiny’s Child song? Just me? As usual. Anyway, this post is less to do about Beyonce, Kelly, and Michelle, and a whole lot more about not getting late fees. Back when I was young and single, I had like 3 bills to pay a month. But when one marries and becomes a home owner, bills tend to multiply. A lot. Enter a bill payment tracker.
There are many ways to track when payments are due. Some people are good at paying a bill right when they get it in the mail. Others set everything up for auto-pay. I like to pay online on my time because auto-pay tends to make me nervous and I don’t really sort mail in a timely manner… ?
Last year I made our first bill payment tracker. It made a huge difference in how many times I’d wonder if I paid a bill on time (usually this would occur during the first 5 minutes of my 25 minute commute). Now I have the tracker up on the side of our refrigerator (somewhat discrete). I just check it once a week to see what is due, go online, and process payments that need to be paid for the week. After that, I get to put a satisfying “X” in the box. ?
I’m a Microsoft Excel guru to some extent so I made the bill payment tracker using that program. I listed all our bills going down and the months going across. In each box, I put a number which is the day of the month that bill is usually due. Some are consistent (like our mortgage is always due on the 1st) and others not so much (like our gas bill can be due anywhere between the 23rd and 26th of the month). This year I also added payments for things that aren’t due on a monthly basis, like our trash pickup, insurance, and our yearly golf membership.
Its amazing how this simple piece of paper can make such a difference in feeling organized but it does. It really does. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some bills due Saturday that I need to pay. ?
Excel ? this is a great idea! I might/probably will make one like this for both the office bills/expenses and my personal ones. Mom brain is a thing these days and some days I can’t remember if I’m coming or going let alone if I paid the bills
Glad you like the idea! It really helps me feel organized with minimal effort.