Comments on: Automatic Bill Pay Concerns – DFA Tip of the Week – 4/20/2009 http://www.debtfreeadventure.com/automatic-bill-pay-concerns-dfa-tip-of-the-week-4202009/ Pay off debt. Save. Give. Live your mission. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 04:12:45 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Manually Reporting My Utility Meter Readings Helped Me Reclaim $160 in Overcharges! | Debt Free Adventure! http://www.debtfreeadventure.com/automatic-bill-pay-concerns-dfa-tip-of-the-week-4202009/#comment-461 Manually Reporting My Utility Meter Readings Helped Me Reclaim $160 in Overcharges! | Debt Free Adventure! Sun, 17 May 2009 11:00:27 +0000 http://www.debtfreeadventure.com/?p=620#comment-461 [...] month I wrote a post titled Automatic Bill Pay Concerns that urged readers to closely monitor any auto-drafts they set up for monthly bills.  To summarize [...] [...] month I wrote a post titled Automatic Bill Pay Concerns that urged readers to closely monitor any auto-drafts they set up for monthly bills.  To summarize [...]

]]> By: DebtFREEk! http://www.debtfreeadventure.com/automatic-bill-pay-concerns-dfa-tip-of-the-week-4202009/#comment-416 DebtFREEk! Tue, 21 Apr 2009 04:07:01 +0000 http://www.debtfreeadventure.com/?p=620#comment-416 Sounds like a good plan Lakita. I also use the auto pay via my bank, I do not think I would trust any of my billing companies with the ability to automatically take money out of my account either! A good thing to do is to set aside a block of time each week to review any new bill amounts that came in. For example, every Saturday after breakfast you sit down for 15 minutes and review your bill amounts. Having a set time will help you remember and be more faithful...and it may save you some money if you catch an error like I did!! PS...your new website looks great! Sounds like a good plan Lakita. I also use the auto pay via my bank, I do not think I would trust any of my billing companies with the ability to automatically take money out of my account either!

A good thing to do is to set aside a block of time each week to review any new bill amounts that came in. For example, every Saturday after breakfast you sit down for 15 minutes and review your bill amounts. Having a set time will help you remember and be more faithful…and it may save you some money if you catch an error like I did!!

PS…your new website looks great!

]]> By: Lakita http://www.debtfreeadventure.com/automatic-bill-pay-concerns-dfa-tip-of-the-week-4202009/#comment-415 Lakita Mon, 20 Apr 2009 23:33:18 +0000 http://www.debtfreeadventure.com/?p=620#comment-415 Hey Matt, Based on the title, I thought I was going to disagree with you, but I see actually agree with all of your points. We can't allow Autopay to become a crutch, we still have to be diligent and observe what is on our bills. Here are two things that I do to ensure I'm not paying more than I owe: 1. Use auto pay through my bank as opposed to the debtors service. This way all my bills are in a central location and easier to manage. I also set up the auto payments instead of "enrolling" in a plan, so if I have to stop a payment to settle an arbitration it is easy to do so. 2. I am trying to develop the habit (not there yet) of reviewing my bills online. Most of them are about the same from month to month so sometimes I don't look unless there is major difference. I need to look all the time! It's a bit more work than complete auto payment, but I enjoy the convenience of the system with enough manual control to provide peace of mind. Hey Matt,

Based on the title, I thought I was going to disagree with you, but I see actually agree with all of your points.

We can’t allow Autopay to become a crutch, we still have to be diligent and observe what is on our bills. Here are two things that I do to ensure I’m not paying more than I owe:

1. Use auto pay through my bank as opposed to the debtors service. This way all my bills are in a central location and easier to manage. I also set up the auto payments instead of “enrolling” in a plan, so if I have to stop a payment to settle an arbitration it is easy to do so.

2. I am trying to develop the habit (not there yet) of reviewing my bills online. Most of them are about the same from month to month so sometimes I don’t look unless there is major difference. I need to look all the time!

It’s a bit more work than complete auto payment, but I enjoy the convenience of the system with enough manual control to provide peace of mind.

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