1.       Designate a specific place to keep unpaid bills and credit card receipts. Use a file folder or basket and put it somewhere that's convenient. If it's hard to ignore, you won't just drop things "here for now."

2.       Develop a regular schedule to pay bills. Handle your bill payments like many businesses do - assign one day of the month to pay them and stick to your schedule.

3.       Designate a specific place to pay your bills. If you plunk down any old place, you'll endure the frustration of hunting down a calculator, stamps, checkbook, and other supplies. Have a designated spot, and stock it with all the supplies you'll need. A quick tip: Store these supplies in an easy-to-grab portable container.

4.       Allocate enough time to pay your bills. If you can't pay all the bills in one sitting, you'll run the risk of forgetting to continue on another day.

5.       Review each bill for accuracy. It's important to face up to each purchase you make, so you acknowledge where your money is going. Take time to match your credit card receipts to your statements, or at least review each line item on your credit card statement to ensure it looks reasonable. Follow the same process to match your debit card transactions with your bank statement.

6.       Record the payment of each bill. Whether you track payments in your checkbook register or on the computer, do it immediately! If you forget, you may waste time and money dealing with an overdrawn bank account. This is also an opportune time to reconcile your bank statement to make sure you have enough money in your account to cover your bills.

7.       Mail your payments so they arrive in time to avoid late fees. Either mail payments as soon as you've written the checks, or note the mailing date on the back of the payment envelope and add a reminder note in your calendar.

8.       File your bills and receipts right away ... if you need to keep them. File your bill-paying paperwork right away, so you don't accumulate a pile to file later. However, before automatically saving every receipt and bill, consider if it needs to be saved for tax purposes or in case you want to return an item. Toss or shred what you don't need and file what you do need.

9.       Consider paying your bills electronically. This will help reduce your paper inflow and save the time and expense of writing and mailing checks. Just be sure to record the payment in your checkbook register.

Ready to take action? You can start today when the mail arrives. If you need more guidance, my APPLES Resource Guide includes forms and charts to help you organize the bill-payment process. It also includes tips to know how long you need to save various financial documents.

Still overwhelmed and frustrated? Contact me to help you set up a process to pay your bills on time, save stress, and save those late fees! ________________________________________________________________

College grad gets her finances in order:
A simple system replaces disarray, stress, and late fees

The Situation: A recent college graduate, 23-year-old Anita was overwhelmed by the financial responsibilities that came with living on her own. From car payments to insurance bills, utility bills, student loan payments, and rent, she couldn't believe the number of checks she had to write each month. She resented spending hours sorting through bills and receipts and had trouble juggling the timing of her paychecks with the bills' due-dates. She'd wait until the last minute to pay bills and sometimes incurred late fees and penalties as a result.

The Solution: We helped Anita set up a bill-payment basket to collect her bills and receipts in one place. We identified all her creditors and the due dates of her bills. Together, we contacted some creditors to move their due dates, so they would better coincide with her paydays. We set up the majority of her bills for electronic payment and established a reminder system to make sure Anita would address this task on time. We determined how long Anita needed to keep paper bills and statements and set up a filing system.

The Outcome:Anita is now paying her bills on time. She told us, "At first, it was a challenge to follow the new process, but I hardly have to think about it anymore - it's now a habit. It's such a relief not to worry about which bill is due and where can I find it. And I sure don't miss paying those late fees! Having a system in place has freed up so much time. It's easy for me to pay my bills and get on with my life."