Bills are something no one looks forward to. Many households struggle to make ends meet when they sit down to create a monthly budget. Attempting to stretch your budget to cover everything might leave you feeling financially drained.
But what if I told you there are easy methods to save costs without sacrificing convenience when paying your bills? Thousands of enterprises, ranging from insurance agencies and mortgage lenders to mobile phone and utility providers, now allow clients to pay monthly bills online, thanks to the expanding ease of the Internet.
Make Fewer Checks
You may save $40 to $100 per year on checks if you purchase them online instead of via your bank. Reducing the number of checks you write by linking your accounts directly to your checking account or credit card may significantly impact your financial situation.
Obtaining Benefits from Credit Cards
A further benefit is that if you use a credit card with a rewards program, you will accumulate credits every time you make a purchase, which can be redeemed for things like free flights or merchandise.
Cut Out Stamps
Every six months, the price of stamps appears to increase. Although buying a book of stamps for $9 may not seem like much, if you have 10-20 bills to send out each month, you will wind up spending roughly $100 on stamps over the year. You have already saved almost $200 by switching to online billing and reducing the expense of checks.
The cost of petrol is rising all the time, so any chance to save a few dollars on that expense is reasonable. If you have to drive to the post office to drop off your mail, you may save gas money by doing so.
Paperless Billing
Many businesses now provide regular incentives to consumers who opt for paperless billing and set up automatic payments from a credit card or bank account. Paperless billing may save you an additional $3 to $5 per month from participating businesses; if ten businesses give you credit for switching to it, that’s an additional $30 to $50 in your pocket.
Don’t Pay Bills Late
If you send your monthly payments via the mail, there is a chance that you may be late sometimes. Unfortunately, many of us wait until the very last minute to send in our bills. So, we are charged a late fee the next billing cycle if they don’t arrive on time.
You may avoid late penalties by waiting until the last minute to pay your bills online. Consistently paying late may build up to a significant sum since fees can vary from $25 to $30.
Begin Saving
The news reports that the economy is improving, but most of us haven’t felt the uptick. In a world where so many people often go without food because they can’t afford it, every chance to cut costs is much appreciated.
Many of us are working so hard that we hardly have time to sit down and budget properly, and that’s on top of the financial hardship. You can’t match the time and money savings from setting up automated payments and online billing. Do you not yet have a bank account? Find out what it would cost you to make it through a year without a bank account, and then make an informed decision about whether or not to have one.
Featured Image: Freepik © Anna Shvets
