How often is it you find the bills and credit card statements all roll in at the same time, it can be stressful and inconvenient if your pay is late or a client still hasn’t paid their invoice.
Perhaps you know you won’t have enough money in the bank by the end of the month so you try to sort everything in the middle of the month.
Maybe you have been stung with late fees as you didn’t have enough to cover a direct debit.
Sound familiar? Did you know it’s easy to fix!
You KNOW you make enough money every month to pay these bills, but it’s the due dates that can be stressful – you check your balance and find you are practically broke. Take the time to personalise the timing of some of your bills to fit into YOUR schedule.
Money tip – make a phone call – Ring your bank and ask them to change the statement day for your credit card statements, bank statements and most of your bills. You can chose a date based on the statement end date or on the due date (this is usually a fixed number of dates from the statement end date but it can vary from bank to bank). Statement dates close to the end of the month or first of the new month gives you a clean *cut off*. While you can always re-work your budget (spending) to go from a set date to a set date it’s easier to make that call and arrange things how YOU want it, not how your bank wants it.
Take action – review your bills – look at all your bills for the month and note the statement closing dates – if there are any that just won’t work with your new schedule or timing call the company and ask if dates can be changed and if so change it to the dates that suits you best. There are a few points to remember
- The changes you make can take one or two *cycles* to actually change and take effect and your first statement could be very long or quite short – if it is going to be a longer statement – 5-7 weeks rather than 4 – expect a larger bill. Always keep an eye on your activity online – NOT receiving a bill is no excuse for not paying attention.
- Take note of the new opening and closing dates on your statement and make sure the new dates suit your cash flow and repayment abilities.
- Choose the bills you want to pay out of your set pay weeks
The Payoff – take time to remember you OWN your money – your money doesn’t own you! You are firmly *in the driver’s seat* you’re NOT the victim – it’s up to you what you spend and how you spend it and ultimately how you will pay for it all. Like most people you hate overdraft fees and late fees and they ARE avoidable – you just need to plan a little better. So if you can keep that money in your pocket your money handling skills will grow stronger every day!