Never Miss a Bill Again

Missing bills totally sucks. It doesn’t happen to most of us very often, but when it does it is frustrating. It can cost us money in fees, extra time, and stress, and for some bills can even lower our credit scores. To avoid this totally sucky thing, here are a few tips to never miss a bill again.

Bills Calendar

Most of our bills are on the same date every month. You can print out a bills calendar that sits by your computer, desk, on your fridge, or wherever you do your work best and won’t forget. That simple calendar may be all it takes. Here are some blank calendar templates to get you started.

Another option is to use an online calendar. I already use the free Google Calendar for all of my planning, and it ties into my email, smartphone, and work calendar so I only need to look one place. You can set up recurring reminders for each bill with an email to you so you don’t forget.

Set Your Bills On Auto-Pay

If you are anything like me, you’d probably rather just skip the work and have the bill pay itself. For every bill other than my credit cards, that’s exactly what I do.

My internet, cell phone, and Netflix bills are automatically charged to my credit card every month. Nothing to worry about. And I get miles from paying my bills. With a Chase Ink card, you get 5x points for phone bills.

My mortgage is paid using my bank’s bill pay automatically each month. My mortgage is paid electronically, but it can also send a check for businesses that are not set up to receive electronic payments.

The only bill I pay manually is my credit card, which I pay more than once per month to keep my balances low.

Bill Reminders

As an extra reminder, most of your billers probably offer an email reminder option. If you are not on auto-pay, you can set up the site to send you an email reminder before each bill is paid so you don’t forget.

If you are not able to set up a reminder, you can also use a to-do list tool like Wunderlist to send you emails every month before your bill is due.

Batch Your Bills

If your bills are due on different days all over the month, you may be able to get the dates moved to all be due on the same day, or at least the same few days, during the month.

Almost all credit card and utility providers are happy to change your due date if you call and ask. Some even let you make the request online.

If you pay all of your bills at once, you are less likely to forget that odd bill due another time of the month.

How Do You Remember Your Bills?

What tricks and tips do you have to remember to pay every bill on time? Please share your best ideas in the comments. Who knows, maybe you’ll even help me make my bill payment better!

This post was originally published on August 14, 2013, and updated on September 29, 2021.