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Home > Archive: February, 2010

Archive for February, 2010

Scheduling Future Bills

February 20th, 2010 at 01:01 pm

Am I just an oddity, or do others "prepay" their regular monthly bills?

Let explaine what I mean by "prepay". I know the date each of my regular bills are due each month (ie: gas electric cable ect) as should we all. I also know approxcimently when the online statements are available. As soon as I can setup a payment online I do. But I set them up for payment the day before they are due, not the same day I get it, then I mark the transaction in my resigtry with the payment date.

I ignore the current date balance in my check book and only use the bottom line as my grocery/gas/entertainment balance. Since I don't use any checks (my wife does, I use the debit card) I don't have to worry about numerical order or things like that.

The advantages I see to my method are:
1. I am never late with a payment
2. The pressure is off me to remember to pay bills (although I do have my set days for scheduling payments, the Saturday following payday, so this is kind of a nonfactor)
3. I gain interest for carrying my checking balance at a higher level for an extended period of time

I know number three is only worth a maybe a dollar or so a month but why give away interest when i can be earning it?

My only exception to this way is my car payment, my target debt at the moment. That I pay 25% of the monthly payment on a weekly basis so as not to accumulate any more interest then I have to. Accually I have been paying double that every week since it is my target.

I kind of do the same type of thing with my credit card, but that is for another time.

So am i just an oddity? Or do others "prepay"?

Side note: I got the title to my other car in the mail last Wednesday (I paid it off the previous Friday, 2 years and 1 month early). The same day someone busted out a tail light and scratched the bumper in a parking lot.
I am starting to wonder if maybe accually owing a car is a jinx for me.