Comments on: Tightwad Tuesday: Online Bill Pay

By: Doug

Doug — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 18:53:06 +0000

I do not do “Bill Pay” but do pay bills electronically. I tried it when my credit union first offered it and still have a sour taste in my mouth. I mailed my bills days before due and knew how long it took the check to be received and processed. I tried with one bill. I set it up and waited. Two weeks before it was due it was drafted. I called my credit union to complain and was told, “we don’t do the bill pay it is processed by a third party, let me connect you.” I was told by the third party, there are two ways bill pay works, the bills are paid and then drafted from the payer’s account. The second is the draft is taken and then paid. I was told “we do it the second way and we take the draft early so we are sure we have the money. I then received a late notice and found, though the draft was taken early the bill was paid late. I immediately canceled bill pay.

In reading this posting though I realized if a person was religious about using bill pay to pay ALL bills, the data it provided would help in maintaining a persons budget. Having picked up on this I may look again at bill pay to see what is will do for me.

Thank you for the wonderful postings and blog.

By: Michelle H.

Michelle H. — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 17:06:32 +0000

I love online bill pay!

By: lynn @ queenofthecastlerecipes

lynn @ queenofthecastlerecipes — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 05:49:17 +0000

My hubby does on-line bill paying and I think it works pretty well. Thanks for doing your Tightwad Tuesday carnival — this is my first time visiting :)

By: celia

celia — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 04:54:13 +0000

Hi! I tell my bridal clients that online bill pay is a great way to really track what they are spending on their wedding and reception. If they set up a separate account just for their wedding expenses, this makes it easy to see where and when the dollars are going!

By: Kate

Kate — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 22:46:26 +0000

direct debit for me, i save money as they give you a saving on each bill if you pay this way and you don;t have to worry about forgetting to pay a bill.

However you do have to check at least once a month to make sure nothing is going wrong. But to date alls been fine.

By: Marci

Marci — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 21:33:13 +0000

I save money by NOT using the online bill pay…. if you don’t pay at least 2 bills a month on line, there is a $5.99 charge per month at my bank, and I only have the credit card (if I use it) that I can’t pay in person or at a local drop off window. (electric, water, car/house insurance) Those bills I walk a couple blocks and get some exercise (which I need) while saving the postage – like getting paid to exercise is how I look at it. :) I know – I’m different :)

By: Pokeberry Mary

Pokeberry Mary — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 21:00:31 +0000

We also use online bill paying and I love it. For one thing it got my Hubby more inolved with our finances. When he could do it with a computer it became much more interesting to him. He does almost all the bills now. I only handle medical–since I’m usually the one who has those bills and I use my HSA card to pay them. I like the way its easy to see what is paid with the online service and also I like to use my debit card for almost all purchases so I can track purchases and expenses and understand my budget better.

By: Liane

Liane — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 20:37:11 +0000

You know that I love on-line bill pay, too. I feel like I have greater control over my budget because I can input a bill for payment the day it comes in the mail. I also write the amount that is being paid out on a small desktop calendar (also free from my bank) so that I can just glance over and see what each weeks cash flow looks like. I haven’t had one late payment in the past 15 months, since I began this system. Also, I use my debit card for all purchases. When I carry cash I tend to piddle it away. This way I can keep track of expenses to the penny – also, my debit card has a Visa logo on it and when I use it as a “credit” instead of debit, my bank pays me 10 cents. I usually earn between $3 and $5 a month doing this.
Happy Tuesday!

By: Mr. CC

Mr. CC — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 19:20:41 +0000

I like Jackie’s idea of combining online bill pay with a rewards credit card. I do that too.

You are absolutely right that paying online saves time, money and worry. I switched, and I’ll never go back.

By: mom2fur

mom2fur — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 18:55:19 +0000

I do on-line billpay for some of my bills, too. What I like is that I can divide a larger payment in half–one early and one on time. What I don’t like is when they send the notice so early (Macy’s is guilty of this) that it gets buried! Oh…and I also don’t like when something is due the 15th, but if you pay that day it doesn’t go in until the 18th. If some companies can let you pay on line (or by phone) on the due date, why can’t everyone?