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Saturday, November 29, 2014

Tips for Paying Bills on Time....even with Mom Brain



Before I had kids, I never had a single late payment....on anything. I easily balanced bills, credit card statements, and the mortgage without forgetting a single due date. I was pretty proud of myself and thought that I was rather impressive in my financial abilities.

Then I had two kids in two years, basically stopped sleeping, and eventually realized maybe I wasn't so special after all. There are more bills now, since there are more people in my family. There are fewer hours in my day that I can think about things in an uninterrupted manner. And, there are more little hands to displace important papers when they are placed anywhere other than in our filing system. I don't habitually have late payment notices sitting in my mailbox, but I would be lying if I told you it had only happened once since my kids came along.

There's nothing quite as terrible as the sinking feeling you get when you realize that a bill went unpaid and you now face a late charge. Bills are not fun to pay in the first place - so the realization that you just cost yourself more money is pretty tough.


I'm 100% ready to declare late fees a thing of the past and achieve financial peace of mind. For our family, financial peace will mean paying off medical bills and debts, improving our budget, and having a solid plan for the future. We're determined to stay on track through the upcoming holiday season - which is when buying tends to get out of hand for a lot of families.

These are some tips I'm implementing in my own life to say goodbye to late fees forever...will you join me in applying some of these ideas to help improve your financial well-being?

  • Set Up Reminders (in more than one place). There's one particular bill that I have forgotten more than once - it is due at a different time of the month than anything else on my list. I've set a Google Calendar reminder for a couple days before the due date, and an alarm on my phone the day the bill is due. That way, I'm getting reminders from more than one place and I'll be way more likely to remember it is due!
  • Set Up Auto Pay. Whenever possible, I'm making all of my payments automatic each month! This takes the worry of forgetting to pay off my mind almost entirely.
  •  Pick Two Specific Days Each Month to Pay Bills. Sit down with your stack of paper statements, email reminders, spreadsheet, or whatever method you use to keep track of upcoming expenses twice a month and make sure to take care of anything that will be due before your next scheduled bill self-evaluation.

To encourage consumers to stay on track with their finances this holiday season, Capital One 360 is decking the halls with deals you can bank on, including new account bonuses, referral bonuses and closing cost credits. I've been a Capital One user for several years and have always been pleased with their services! All of Capital One 360's products are designed to save consumers time and money. They are always available - either online or via an excellent mobile app.

Capital One 360 is getting the holiday season off to a great start with lots of deals and incentives this weekend! Check out the Black Friday sales below:

ShareBuilder Up to $1,250 bonus (tiered offer)
  • Must be a new ShareBuilder customer
Home Loans $1,250 off closing costs
  • Must sign up for the loan during the sale period
360 Checking $100 bonus
  • Must make a $500 minimum initial deposit and make five transactions
  • Must be new to 360 Checking
360 Savings $100 bonus
  • Must make a $1,000 minimum initial deposit
  • Must be new to 360 Savings
Refer a Friend $40 bonus per successful referral
  • For someone to receive the referral bonus, they must be a current customer
  • Their friend must meet the minimum initial deposit requirements
  • Applies to all accounts

I especially love the free $100 bonuses just for opening an account - if you open a checking account and a savings account, that's $200 FOR FREE! That could definitely help maintain financial peace when Christmas shopping - am I right?
What steps are you taking to achieve financial peace now and in 2015?

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

21 comments:

  1. Setting up Auto Pay is a MUST! Ever since I graduated college 7 months ago (gosh, that seems like forever ago) I've gotten so much better with bills and staying on top of my finances! I love Auto Pay because it ensures I won't miss a payment <3

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  2. Those are some great tips. I always have mommy brain so autopay helps a lot.

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  3. Great tips! It is so true that when kids come in the picture it's hard to focus on anything else (like paying bills) sometimes!

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  4. The problem with Auto Pay is that if something happens and they cancel your credit card (think home depot security breach), you could be late on some really important things! We are dealing with this right now because our LIFE INSURANCE was on auto-pay!
    My husband and I split the bill paying. I always pay my assigned bills on the first of the month (whether it's due on the 15th, or the 1st or the 30th). The bills I pay this way are never late. The tough part is store charge cards. You can always call them up and have them change your billing date, though, so that all your bills match up!

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  5. I used to think ! was super awesome at remembering to pay bills before kids too haha! Now I definitely need reminders and a monthly routine to make sure it happens. Thanks for sharing!

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  6. Awesome! Thanks for the heads up on the bonuses :)

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  7. I used to be quite bad at remembering to pay my bills but now I have my own tracker that I check every two weeks and make sure I have paid off everything.

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  8. Awesome tips!!!! Before I was married I use to be so bad at paying on time just because I was that forgetful lol... No thank god I don't really have that problem ;-)

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  9. These are great tips! I keep a calendar and I have reminders on my phone!

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  10. These are great tips. Paying on time is so important. I keep recurring reminders in my phone.

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  11. Auto pay scares me because of something happens , it might mess me up. I do like reminders especially since its on my phone. I always write it on a calendar

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  12. Great tips on managing your finance. Paying bills on time is such an important thing to do. Thanks for sharing!

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  13. I have to rules when it comes to bills, spend only what you can pay in a month. The second is pay on time to avoid interest. It's also good that capital one 360 is offering good packages and incentives.

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  14. wow - capitalone 360 has some good offers. I agree with all your points - auto pay and remainder help me a lot.

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  15. I think I've only ever had a late fee once in my life.. but I can't imagine what it's like having kids and having to juggle so many things at once! :) Luckily my husband is the more organized one out of us too so he deals with managing the finances.

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  16. great tips! i love how you included where to save and make money with bills. I need to work on autopay more!

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  17. I need help remembering sometimes! I write it in my planner but still foreget.

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  18. I love bonuses that banks offer to keep current customers happy (and gain your business and loyalty). I don't know how I do it, but I manage to remember all of my bill dates in my head....except for my Macy's bill (that one slips my mind often...for some reason).

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  19. These are some great tips. It's so easy to let a bill slip your mind, especially if you have kids I imagine!

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  20. Great idea about putting reminders in different places. I have all of my bills in an excel file and on a paper ledger too. What paper? I figure it worked for my parents and it can work for me. Thanks for the great tips!

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  21. These are some great tips for paying your bills on time. I put alerts in my phone for bills that are due.

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