How To Pay Your Bills

Ok so now we have talked about saving some money, so now we can talk about ways to pay bills.  Everybody has bills to pay, the ability to pay them is what what causes the issue.  When you have very little to work with it can become very difficult.

I get paid biweekly.  I make roughly $175 a week after all my deductions.  This is definitely not a lot and then paying bills makes it even more challenging but it can be done with a little skill.  First make phone calls.  Some times if you call you can get companies to adjust your payments.  You can get it switched to a different day if you have too many due at the same time.  You can ask for a cheaper plan on cable or phone. Sometimes you can get a better interest rate on a credit card.  Even if they say no you still have to call to find out.  If you don't call you don't know.

next you have to know your minimum payments and your due dates.  Most of your payments are going to stay the same every month.  This is the payment and due date. Once you know what these are you need to start getting your mind wrapped around when and how much you will pay each pay date.  Not on the due date but on the pay day that falls before it is due.  For example you have a bill that is due the 20th but you get paid on the 10th or the 24th.  Well anything that is due after the 10th is getting paid on the 10th.  If you have anything that is due after the 24th then those bills will come out of your second check.  There may be some weeks that you have less money but making sure your bills are paid is what is important.

Eventually if you are paying off a credit card or something like that it will be paid off.  Then you can use that money to pay off the next thing.  There is debate over whether you should pay off the smallest balance first or the highest interest rate item.  I personally feel that it is better to pay off the smallest balance item first.  This way you will get something paid off quicker and that money can go toward the next item.  The faster you can pay stuff off the sooner you will have more money.

When I pay something off I like to use the 50/50 rule for the money that would have went to that payment.  I put half of that payment toward the next bill to be paid off and the other half in my checking or saving.  The reason for this is it makes you feel better and more comfortable about moving forward.  You want to feel like you are freeing up your money so if you give yourself some then it is extra money each pay period so you feel  like you are succeeding.  If you can put more toward paying off the bill that is great but you don't want to feel like you are never going to get any where either.

So here are some small tips for paying bills.  If you have more questions or suggestions please share.  Lets get saving.

Dealing With Loss

So we are going to switch gears for a minute.  So on Tuesday I had to put my dog to sleep.  It was very hard.  I cried like a baby.  My daughter was with me and cried too.  It was a very emotional day and the things that bothered me the most were not the ones I thought would get to me.

We knew this was what was best for him.  He was old and tired and he was having trouble just being here.  I made the appointment for a week later so we would have just a bit longer to love him and spoil him.  We got him some special items just for him and he slept with us every night until it was the day.  We did everything we could to make sure that his final days were great.  Then it was time

We sat with him for a bit then they gave him the shot.  Then we sat some more.  We cried and just loved on him for a little bit.  Then we decided it was time to let them take him.  Then our friends took us to dinner and we were doing okay.  We knew in our hearts we had done the right thing.  It was the next part that really hit hard and made us cry even harder.

We came home.  He was not there to greet us.  He wasn't laying on his pillow.  My daughter out of habit sat down on her couch and draped her hand over the edge like usual which was when Freckles would waddle over and get some lovins.  That is when it really got bad, he didn't waddle over.  He was never going to waddle over for lovins again.

That is what is hard about losing some one.  It isn't the letting go.  You know that people are lost every day.  It isn't the loss that hurts so much.  It is remembering.  It is a remembering all the wonderful things that used to be.  You realize those thing are officially over.  They are never going to happen again.  Now every time you see those things happening or do those things it reminds you of the person or animal and it hurts that they are not there to do those things again.

We will always remember and we will always love you.  Thank you for rescuing us.  RIP Freckles "The Fat Man" Hooper

No Card No Problem

So I explained to you how I have ditched my Debit Card and use cash now.  I do have a couple credit cards for emergency purposes.  I would just like to clarify that.  I love using cash for many reasons.  I can see it go.  I know exactly what is happening to it.  When it is gone it is gone so there is no over drafting my account on accident.  As stated in my article about how to save money we don't have it helps me build up my savings with out even noticing it is gone.

When you use your debit card you just swipe but you do not really have that connection of giving it away.  When you have to physically give it to some one it clicks a little different and when they hand a little less back than what you gave them, that is a connection.  If you are out shopping and only have a certain amount of cash on hand to spend you know you can not go over.  There is no picking up a few extras because you know you don't have it.

Another question is now how do I pay my bill?  Well there is the old fashioned method  Write a check and mail it to whom eve you need to pay.  This does require buying stamps and with a few companies envelopes.  If you have a Dollar Tree near you this  is a great place to save money on stuff like that.  Then there is the newer method.  It is electronic withdrawal which the company can set up over the phone or you can set up an account with the company and make a payment each month or  there is .online banking.  I still have a checking account for certain things so I use my online bill pay.  My money get directly deposited in my account on pay day and then I go into my bill payer and tell the bank when I want the money o be sent to the company I am paying.  It is super easy and convenient.  You can even make payments to people so if you need to pay back "Aunt Jackie" who you only see like maybe once a month you can put her in your bill pay and then she will get a check right from the bank.

You have many options to help deal with this new adventure.  It does take some time and a little effort but if you stick with it you will find that you will see progress that is actually getting you some where.  It didn't happen over night but slowly I have figured out what is working and I am getting there.  Next I think we will talk about how to tackle paying bills in general especially if you get paid less than weekly.  Thanks for reading and lets get saving.

Hi

So I stopped writing for a bit because it looked as if I was only writing to myself.  I have since seen that there have been a lot of page views.  Not sure if I am really helping or not but with more people reading it can't hurt to keep going.  I will be writing another piece shortly.  This one will be No Card Got Bills:  How do I pay them now?

I will be discussing exactly how to pay and manage your bills even with out having your debit card to take care of it.  I know it will be tricky at first as most of us rely on our card.  I still have not reordered one and it has been at least 6 months now with out it.  I am actually enjoying it.