How to you get your organized when it comes to paying bills? Are you a completely electronic person or paper person, or do you fall someplace in the middle?
In the last year, I decided to create a Bill Paying Binder to keep me organized and know when I need to pay a bill each month. It has helped me immensely. I know that twice a month, I need to pull out my binder and sit down to pay bills, everything I need is right there and I’m ready to go.
Today, I thought I would share 10 tips for getting your bills organized and creating a Bill Binder that you can use every time you need to sit down and right out those checks.
These tips have worked for me over the months, but maybe only a couple of them are what you need. You just have to find a method that works and stick with it.
1. Find a Binder that works for you. Mine is a 1 inch binder and is the perfect size. I have pockets in the front and back of my binder where I can keep address labels and things.
2. Find a Pencil Pouch and gather up all your materials. I have pens, pencils, calculator, and a hold punch in my pouch.
3. Decide how many sections you need in your binder and add tabs for those sections. I have three sections including: Bills due on the 30th, Bills due on the 15th and Last Month. I like to keep a month of old bills in my binder so that I can compare costs if needed. I three whole punch my bills as they come in and stick them into either the 30th or 15th, so that all the bills that need paid on that date are together in one place.
4. Print out a calendar for each month of the year. Go through and add all the payments that need paid on the same day every month, quarterly or yearly. I printed out my calendars HERE.
5. When You get a bill in the mail, add it to your calendar right away.
6. After you have put your bill due date on the Calendar, stick the bill in the front inside pocket of the binder.
7. Be sure to keep your Address Labels in either the front inside pocket or back inside pocket of the Binder so that you have them available easily.
8. Be sure to keep your stamps near by too, you want to make sure you have as many supplies as you can in one location to make things easier.
9. After you have paid each bill, mark your calendar in some way so that you know it has been paid and mailed out. I like to highlight mine.
10. I also have a separate pouch of different colored markers to use on my calendars. I like to mark payments, utilities, paychecks all in different colors to have them stand out a little bit.
These are all very easy and simple tips that you can use to get your bill paying organized. What do you do to keep yourself organized? Do you use spreadsheets or are you a paper and pencil person?
Where did you get the pen pouch at the end of the post? I am using a basket with all my colored pens but I love how that holds them all flat and easy to see.
I do the exact same thing for my bills but I also add on a thicker binder (I don’t keep at the desk) where I file bills for a year after I pay them. I also keep receipts from big purchases and important paperwork that may be needed. Once a year I go through that and make files for things I still want to keep and shred the reset. It really makes for organized bill paying!
Thanks for the post!
What do you use the three sections for? Bills on the 15th, 30th and last month. Since you say to store them in the pocket of the folder after writing them on the calendar. Thanks!
This is the way I do my bills! One difference though, I need to get a 3 inch binder. I keep stubs (or slips with confirmation numbers) in sheet protectors for the year. It has already helped me once when a bill lost my payment! Each year it gets cleaned out for the next year. It is really nice for taking to places (like WIC) that need a couple months worth of paystubs or certain bills to process. It is already all in one place. I just grab the binder on the way out the door!
I like my excel way of paying, but this is much more comprehensive! I may need to switch the way I do my bills.
Looks like a great idea! I am starting a tickler file based on an idea from one of my professional organizer friends. Hoping to get my organization under control here soon!