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Thursday, April 9, 2015

Lost Bill



Travelling the roads the only practical way for me to keep the bills straight is to pay them on-line. Now some folks don't worry about that because they have no bills. Another way is to put everything on automatic payments.

If you've ever done any banking on-line you've most likely had offers to set up automatic bill pay. There are only a tiny handful of bills I'm comfortable paying automatically. They are small payments and never change from month to month. I don't like it, but I can live with it.

There are occasionally bills that slip through the cracks. Today I was notified by e-mail of a late bill from a building supply store. That dates back to when I was in Florida. I must have used the card to take advantage of the membership discount. The paper bill should have been forwarded to my in-laws place in TX. A lot of my snail mail was.

Normally we'd have mail sent to our next destination, but that's a bit of problem. Where we are staying in MO does not even have a mailing address. It's also a long drive into town to the post office. (remote or what?) Now my mail is piling up at my daughter's place in NH. That's fine. I'll deal with any stray bits of business when I get home.

However, the building supply store had my e-mail and let me know payment was overdue. It took some effort, but I was able to access my account on-line and pay the bill: $26 -big whoop. It's not a big bill, but not paying those little things can eventually show up on your credit rating.

Good thing I sprung for a mobile hotspot and can access the Internet. The store bill was no big deal either way, but I'm also paying things like my car insurance on-line, so it's good to be able to stay in touch.

Eventually I hope to simplify my financial life. Maybe I'll even forgo using store cards and pay cash. The discounts just aren't worth the hassle.

-Sixbears

10 comments:

  1. I have one credit card and a Sam's Club card. If it wasn't for my wife, I'd get rid of the Sam's card. It gripes me to pay for the "priviledge" of spending money in their store.

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    1. It should tick you off. I'm no fan of paying "memberships" just to spend more money.

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  2. Gorges I feel the same way. As it's just me I don't have a SAMs card.

    I don't buy or wear labeled hats, shirts or jackets that I have to pay for either. If the manufacturer wants to advertise on a piece of clothing they can damn well give it to me for free or pay me to wear it.

    Wade in NW Florida

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    1. I feel the same way and avoid clothes with logos like the plague. Imagine if that sort of thinking caught on?

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  3. I tried automatic payments but quit because I would forget them and get overdrawn. I do have one account just for bills that I pay online. Seems to work for me.

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    1. My big problem is that I want to be able to contest a bill. That's much harder when they already have your money.

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  4. Yes, receiving and paying bills while on a trip can be a hassle. It was a lot worse before everyone was on the internet.

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    1. I used to do business over pay phones and by check -a royal pain.

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  5. I pay all my bills on line, but never use autopayment. If I were mobile, I think the only paper bill I would have to deal with is the EMC and I could do that on line as well.

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    1. I still write a few checks, but maybe I'll give up on those too. Some things I'm slow to change.

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