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....or things get turned off. So I've taken over my late Mom's house. My brother is living here too...and somehow instead of us splitting the responsiblity down the middle I got stuck with trasfering all the utilities to my name. I think I might have to buy his share of the house from him anyway so whatever... but still, I've never been totally responsible for everything in a house before and I guess I lost track of some of the bills.
Yes...I forgot to pay the internet bill...and last week while playing online....*bzzzzwoooo* down it goes.
Opps....
I'm back now. Who needs a hobby when you have a house!
Posts: 4953 | Registered: Jan 2004
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Telpy, seriously! I finally got all my utilities put on direct debit so I don't ever forget. It's so nice.
Posts: 6246 | Registered: Aug 2004
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Ouch. Have you considered mugging powerful people from the utilities companies and getting them to give you immunity?
Posts: 1735 | Registered: Oct 2004
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quote:Telpy, seriously! I finally got all my utilities put on direct debit so I don't ever forget. It's so nice.
That works great when you know that money is actually in your account when the bill goes through every month. When you're living paycheck to paycheck, maintaining a high enough balance isn't always an option.
Posts: 2064 | Registered: Dec 2003
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Valentine014, that's true, but most utilities will let you skip one bill without cutting you off. It's the second bill that if it's not paid on time they will disconnect you. The fees for reconnecting you are hefty, too, and they always seem to pick Friday afternoon to disconnect, meaning they will charge extra weekend reconnection rates. Being disconnected is extremely expensive.
It's true, though, that my trouble was always forgetting to pay, not lacking the money to pay, which is much scarier. I am so absent minded about things like that!
Posts: 6246 | Registered: Aug 2004
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I admit to having one automatic bill pay. My car insurance is very important. My mother insisted that I get that one on auto. They have severe penalties for missing a payment. And hell, even I can manage $80-90 per month.
Posts: 2064 | Registered: Dec 2003
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I do every bill possible automatically. If they won't do that it virtually guarantees it'll be paid late. I don't like writing checks, and never have stamps and envelopes.
Posts: 5462 | Registered: Apr 2005
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The only automatic withdrawl I have is rent, but everything else is payable online from my bank. I use the first paycheck to pay most of my bills, and the second paycheck to pay the phone and the other big things. It's great - nothing's late now.
Posts: 26077 | Registered: Mar 2000
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Just figured I should point out that even automatic bill pay doesn't solve all. I received a bill from the city utilities which threatened to shut off my water etc. I thought it odd since I do automatic bill pay. It turns out they never received (or lost) the check and my bank is reissuing it, but doubtless they will still charge me a late fee.
Posts: 4548 | Registered: May 2001
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Geez, being an ex-homeowner apparently means paying bills too. We sold our house in Bellingham, and now it appears the gas is about to be turned off because *we* didn't pay the bill. Eh, not our house anymore, dudes. The titling company was supposed to switch all the utilities, but they didn't do it. When we got the bill, we tossed it out, thinking that it was all taken care of.
Well, it is now. I am just glad that we didn't have that on autobill pay (we only do that for our mortgage). We might have gone a couple of months before noticing we were still paying that bill.
Posts: 5948 | Registered: Jun 2001
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quote: Wow Valentine, have you considered switching to Geico?
See, I know you have to be kidding. This is the rate I pay for full coverage, renter's, and all the special little things you can get on car insurance. No one I know pays less than that for what I get.
It helps to use the same insurance company since you were 16.
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Quicken is a life saver (although I hear Money is just as good). I use Bill Pay, costs about $5 extra per month, once stamps are taken into account.
I use the calendar in Quicken to remind me when everything is due.
On time bill-paying is a critical element of credit scores. One cutoff won't hurt the score too much. But it's worth taking precautions to be on time with everything.
Posts: 26071 | Registered: Oct 2003
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We just don't mention that teeny tiny little ticket I got when I was 16 and caught in a speed trap. I took the 8-hour class and no one is the wiser... Posts: 2064 | Registered: Dec 2003
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So I've taken over my late Mom's house. My brother is living here too...and somehow instead of us splitting the responsiblity down the middle I got stuck with trasfering all the utilities to my name. I think I might have to buy his share of the house from him anyway so whatever... but still, I've never been totally responsible for everything in a house before and I guess I lost track of some of the bills.![[Blushing]](graemlins/blushing.gif)
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