Hacks to Make the Hard to Do Easier

"We do things not because they were easy, but because we thought they were going to be easy."  ~ parody of JFK quote on going to the moon.

Yes, a number of personal finance activities are hard to do, even though they sound easy.

Here are some hacks to make the hard to do, easier:

• Automate.  Have contributions to savings or retirement accounts done automatically.  Don't need to think about it or put any effort towards it except for the initial decision.
  
  
• Routine.   I set up my bank to receive most of my bills on its bill pay service.   When the bill shows up, I pay it and have the funds withdrawn the next day, way before the due date.  That way I have a running current balance in our bank account and know immediately whether I have enough funds and the amount remaining.
  
  
• Habit.  Here are examples of some financial habits.   Regularly use cash instead of credit cards.  Buy only what one needs, instead of things that one wants.  Always have a three month emergency fund. Put a percentage of raises into savings.

Progress will happen and, of course, YMMV.

For more on The Practice of Personal Finance, check back every Wednesday  for a new segment.

This is not financial advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

Copyright © 2025 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Checking College Bills

Over the summer, our daughter received a bill for fall semester in college. She assumed the bill was correct.  As with all bills, I reviewed the bill in detail.   I found two incorrect charges.

1. The school automatically billed us for Health Insurance, despite us having our own health insurance and deleting it last year.  The billing office explained that the college automatically bills for health insurance and expects the student to remove it if not needed.
   
   
2. There was a small surcharge for a room where students are allowed to remain during breaks.  My daughter did not request this service.  Her roommate did, but wasn't charged.

My coaching lesson for my daughter is to check all bills, especially big ones, in detail.  Don't assume the billing organization did it correctly.

For more on Strategies and Plans check back every Monday for a new segment.

This is not financial advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

Copyright © 2024 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

On-line Bill Paying Services -Save Money, Time and Reduce Stress

Electronic bill paying is a great banking service because it benefits everybody. Banks do it because it's cheaper for them with no paper to handle. Payees like it because it is faster and cheaper to handle. Best of all, I love it because it's better for the payer. Here are the better-for-payer reasons:

Saves money. I save a $0.39 stamp, an envelope and a check. It may seem small, but combine the 10+ bills we pay per month (on average) and it adds up - $3.90 a month and about $50 per year. That doesn't include envelopes, checks and other miscellaneous costs.

Saves time. After investing the time to set up the service, paying a bill only involves a few clicks and typing in the amount and payment date. Compare this to writing out each check, stuffing the elements in an envelope and taking them to the nearest mailbox.

No stress about late payments. Most bill payment services will guarantee payment within 3 days of submission. In my experience, should the bill be late, the bill paying service will rectify the situation.

My bill paying service currently only does automatic payments for recurring payments of the same value, such as our mortgage. So we still have to physically enter the amount and date in our bill paying information. When we were in Japan, the bank would do automatic payments for utilities and credit cards, which had different payment values each month. I look forward to this type of service being provided in the future.

For more articles on The Practice of Personal Finance, check back every Wednesday for a new segment.

Photo Credit: morgueFile.com, Ronnie Bergeron

This is not financial advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

Copyright © 2007 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Pay Your Bills Right Away

When I managed our bills, I had a just-in-time payment system. I rationalized that I was maximizing the interest earned on our money by doing this. My wife now manages our bills and uses a different method. She pays our bills right away. After seeing both methods in action, I prefer the "pay right away" method. Here are the reasons:

Payments are ALWAYS on time. While I was very good at meeting the payment due date, I would occasionally miss a deadline. To remedy the situation, I would call the creditor and ask for forgiveness. Usually, the late payment charge and interest were removed. Now that we pay right away and never miss a due date.

There is a buffer for errors. When I missed a due date, sometimes it was my fault and other times, the mail system was at fault. Since we now pay right away, a delay of a few days doesn't make any difference. The due date is still over two weeks away.

Any penalty was usually greater than the interest earned. Delaying a payment of $1000 until the due date earns about about $3 interest for a month. However, the penalty for missing the payment would be $10 to $20 for that month.

More mind space. Since I don't need to worry about meeting the due dates, I can invest time thinking about other ways to increase our wealth:-)

For more on The Practice of Personal Finance, check back every Wednesday for a new segment.

Photo Credit: morgueFile.com, Clara Natoli

This is not financial advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

Copyright © 2007 Achievement Catalyst, LLC