How to Get the Bills Paid

There are many ways to get the bills paid today. Each has pros and cons and realistically most people use some combination of all of them. The answer to the question of which method is the best will change from person to person and from one stage of life to another.


1. For the elderly, putting the routine bills on auto-pay may be practical. If forgetfulness is becoming an issue or if writing out the check is becoming more difficult, auto-pay ensures that bills will get paid in a timely way. Implementing auto-pay requires you to provide the company with your bank’s routing number and your account number.

2. For the person that has made accumulating points, cash back rewards and frequent flier miles a passion, putting everything possible on a credit card is the way to go.

3. For the person that is pressed for time but doesn’t want to build-up credit card balances, online bill pay through a bank is the answer. Once the set-up is complete, multiple bills can be paid in a matter of minutes. Before you sit at the computer, gather statements from all the payees you want to set-up. You’ll need account numbers, mailing addresses, and phone numbers for each.

4. For those that don’t trust the computer, writing out checks is the method of choice (and don’t even bother trying to convince them otherwise). Now that banks are no longer returning cancelled checks, this method loses one record keeping advantage.

5. For those that can no longer handle the bill-paying task at all, there is a Daily Money Manager. A Daily Money Manager is a person that comes to your home on a regular basis and helps with the mail, the bills, making deposits, balancing checking accounts, and more. It is a way to provide the support needed to keep living independently. The American Association of Daily Money Managers provides a tool on their website for a geographical search to find a Daily Money Manager in your area.