- There are different types of bills in the United States, from those of public services to those of your debts. A single forgotten payment goes to your credit history
Although it seems that forgetting a bill could be nothing to write home about, the repercussions can be more serious than you imagine. Your payment history is strongly related to your credit history in the United States, so when you miss once, it could affect your financial future. If you are one of those who blames your bad memory for not paying one or more bills, these 5 tips will help you not to miss the deadline again.
1. Lean on your robotic assistants
From smart phone voice assistants like Apple’s Siri to tech gadgets like Amazon’s Alexa, they can help you set reminders about when your bills are due, whether it’s for your utility bills, your memberships, even your bills. credit card debt and personal loans.
2. Automate strategically
Automating your payments is a very functional tool for most bills. But it is important that you are clear that saying “the majority” is not synonymous with “all”. If your payments don’t vary from month to month, automating them is a good way to ensure you don’t forget them. For example, memberships usually have the same recurring charge, unless there is an adjustment to your account, which you should be aware of.
However, your bills for services, such as gas or electricity, vary constantly and it could happen that, if you do not have enough funds in your account or credit card, you could trust yourself and stop paying without realizing it. We recommend that you also set a reminder to verify that the payment was made on time.
3. Make it routine
Paying your bills should be an important action in your life, just like your personal appointments or work matters. If you have any routine, it is because you consider it relevant to your life. Your bills should be part of it. Even when you set up alerts and automate your payments, reviewing and confirming should be part of your routine. We will not tell you to do it every day, but that it is an action that you do at least once a week.
4. Record all your payments in one place
Writing, capturing and tracking helps certain things stay top of mind. We recommend having a bill book or registration tool that allows you to view the monthly payments you must make. Add the court dates and the amounts you have to pay (if they are fixed). Thus, when you review your notes for something specific, you can also keep an eye on the following payments and their due date.
5. Do not leave everything until the last
Invoices have two important dates: the cut-off date and the due date. The cut-off date is the day on which your account must be settled to avoid problems, then you have a grace period to make your payment and, later, the due date follows, which is the limit to make your payment before having surcharges and/or earn interest.
Leaving your payment until the last minute can cause problems. For example, if the due date falls on a Friday or a holiday, your payment could be processed later and therefore be late. In fact, if you automate your payments, do it on the cut-off date and not until the due date, so if there is a conflict with your payment, you will have time to correct course.