About a year ago I set up automatic bill pay for everything - utilities, cable, internet, etc.  All except mortgage which is drawn from my account by the lender.  I have to say that this has made paying bills very painless. I can see due dates, and decide if I want to pay a bill early or just on time.  Plus I can pull up the payment history and see how much is spent each month.

What is your take on this? Has automatic bill pay made your bill paying easier?

purpnexnex wrote:

About a year ago I set up automatic bill pay for everything - utilities, cable, internet, etc.  All except mortgage which is drawn from my account by the lender.  I have to say that this has made paying bills very painless. I can see due dates, and decide if I want to pay a bill early or just on time.  Plus I can pull up the payment history and see how much is spent each month.

What is your take on this? Has automatic bill pay made your bill paying easier?

Yes.  I haven't had a checkbook in years and it really puts alot of pressure on me to make sure I have enough in the account to cover my bills which reduces my temptation to spend

I like to do most of mine online. The credit cards I like to do weekly, as soon as extra money is avail I post a payment. I still use the checkbook on some items.

I like automatic bill pay too. It makes the whole process of paying the bills a lot less stressful, especially because you don't have the temptation to put it off just one more day, or anything like that. All you have to do is put the money in the account and they do all the work for you.

I use my credit card for everything then I just pay off the credit card every month and I get the rewards. Very easy to track.I've actually never pai bills  by check.

ctboss wrote:

I use my credit card for everything then I just pay off the credit card every month and I get the rewards. Very easy to track.I've actually never pai bills  by check.

Personally, I would not recomend this method.  If you are disciplined enough to be able to pay off the balance, then kudos!  I certainly wish that I had the wherewithall and discipline to do so.  I always wonder "If you have the money to pay it off anyway, why not just buy it in cash and not give the credit card companies a chance to take your money?" 

I consider it to be a very risky practice.

If, for instance, you were to lose your job before being able to pay it off, you'd have to find a way to pay that bill with no income, or from savings that probably could be used to pay for something important.  Also, I've never considered the "rewards" from rewards programs all that rewarding.  In typical cases, if you compare the dollar value of what you're redeeming to the amount you had to spend to "earn" those points, you are being ripped off.

Again, if you have the discipline and resources to be able to do this successfully on a monthly basis, then more power to you.

Also, take into consideration that I am the token liberally-minded youth that now believes that lenders in general are pigdogs and thieves.  My opinion only counts to myself. 

Last edited by christensen.evan (2007-09-07 10:24:23)

I have to quit writing checks . . . balancing my check book is my major downfall!  This is a great thread . . . I will set up automatic bill pay . . . and hide my checkbook!

I don't think paying for everything with a credit card is as risky as you make it out to be. If I lose my job there wouldn't have been any other way to use the money if I had paid by cash/check because it would have been gone already. I'm talking about fixed expenses, transportation, utilities and student loans.  By paying with a credit card I have the money in a savings account so I *COULD* use it in an event like that but I wouldn't. Planning for unemployment should take other forms, not using money that is needed for fixed expenses.

You're right the rewards aren't that great but I receive a $200 credit on my student loans about once a year. This amounts to almost 3 months worth of monthly payments for one of them. That's not something to take lightly when trying to conquer debt. Not to mention that I can earn interest on the money for 1 month before the credit card bill needs to be paid.

I just moved into a new apartment and the apartment finding company allowed me to put the security deposit and one months rent on my credit card. So I earned points on $3,000 and I am earning interest on this money until the credit card bill is due. This method isn't for everybody but it works well for me and the rewards are nice.

Checkbook?  What's a checkbook?  LOL! 

I use online bill pay and auto withdrawals for everything.  I keep track of it all within Microsoft Money.

ctboss wrote:

I use my credit card for everything then I just pay off the credit card every month and I get the rewards. Very easy to track.I've actually never pai bills  by check.

That's pretty much what I do.  And I wrote a report about it for one of my clients.

I don't pay my bills automatically though.  I pay them manually and I like the idea of being able to pay all my bills online though.  I can just look at my accounts and I pay each bill in increments so that I always have free money.  Like my cable, I pay it $50 every week for three weeks.  I don't mind doing it that way though because it's so easy and I always have emergency money when I need it.  You know, to bail out the kids.