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I’m very fortunate to be in good financial shape with actual savings these days, but this is a new development for me. For the vast majority of my adulthood, I lived paycheck to paycheck, and ensuring my bills were paid took on a special, stressful significance. Would I have enough money to cover everything due? How close would I come to overdrafting my checking account? Not a fun time.
I developed a few ways to manage my stress levels in the process of paying bills, however. And today is your lucky day — because I’m going to share them with you.
1. I stay on top of my balances
First and foremost, I lean on my personal finance motto: Knowledge is power. If you know how much money you owe to creditors, and how much money is in your bank accounts, you’re already ahead of the game.
To that end, it’s never a surprise when I log into my accounts on bill-paying days — I always have at least a rough idea of how much money I have and how much I owe. The rise of mobile apps for banks and credit card issuers has made this task a lot easier, and if you’re not already using them, I highly recommend it.
2. I manage the bills old school
I might go hard on technology for keeping track of bank and credit card balances, but for actually paying my bills and ensuring everything is paid on time, I go old school instead. Every year, I pick out a paper wall calendar that I hang in view of my desk, and I fill in all the bills on the dates they’re due, along with how much I owe. Then I check them off on the calendar as I pay them. I haven’t had a late or missed bill payment in years, and I credit that to this system.
I keep track of what’s been paid, as well as my checking account balance, in another way as well. I use a spiral notebook as a “checkbook,” noting my starting balance on every payday and subtracting the bills I pay (and noting the date I paid them). Once I subtract the bills from my balance, I can easily see how much money I can send to my savings account’s various “buckets,” which let me save for vacations, medical bills, and more. Plus, getting that money out of checking ASAP means it has more time to grow with interest in a high-yield savings account before I spend it.
3. I divide up bigger bills
My two biggest bills are my rent and my monthly health insurance premium (which is quite high, as I’m a freelancer, I have a Gold-level plan, and I don’t qualify for ACA subsidies). They are also due on the 1st of every month, and since I don’t want to wipe out an entire paycheck on these two bills, I instead split them up over multiple paydays.
To keep track of which cash in my checking account is set aside for bills with future due dates, yep, you guessed it — I use that handy spiral notebook. That way, when I check in on my account balance, I can check the notebook if my aging brain has forgotten why there’s “extra cash” left in an account that doesn’t earn interest.
How else can you cope?
My techniques to keep my stress levels down on payday work for me, but if you’re looking for other ideas, you’re in luck. Here are two that you might want to lean on.
Budgeting
OK, no one really likes budgeting, but if you’re struggling to get a handle on your cash flow and expenses, it’s the best option. You can create a custom spreadsheet if you’re so inclined, but here in the year 2024, you can also choose from a list of the best budgeting apps. These little programs can show you where the money is going, and might even make the process more fun.
Automation
I have a few of my bills set to auto-pay, but in each case, it was because I was required to do so to score a discount (in the case of my cellphone service) or because that’s just how it works (my auto insurance). I don’t like feeling as if my bills are outside of my control, and that goes back to my years of paycheck-to-paycheck living.
But a lot of people like automating their bills, as it saves them time and the concern about forgetting to pay something. If this sounds like you, you might want to see if you can get all your expenses to come out of your bank account automatically. I recommend still checking in on the account to make sure the bills are actually being taken out, though.
If paying bills stresses you out, you’re not alone. Consider using a few of the tips above to make it easier to keep a handle on your finances.
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