Always Check Automatic Invoice Payments
Automating your finances will fix it, right? It turns out only if you still track your money regularly. The Wall Street Journal interviewed a handful of money experts about how people waste money. And we won’t talk about what they said about it, because this vertical of Lifehacker is a latte and shame free zone.
But this one caught my eye. CFP Ellen Weber admitted:
Are you one of those people who have resisted automating your bill paying tasks every month for fear of losing your bill, what and when? Or are you so automated that you don’t even know the login for most of these online accounts?
If you’re feeling overly automated, here’s how to tweak the system to make all this automation (thanks tech!) More mindful.
Check every auto payment
It gets worse before it gets better, and this first step in the process can be a mess. Take every statement still in the mail and log into your bank account. List each invoice that is automatically paid and note the amount and date when it will be debited from your account. If you pay bills from various bank accounts or credit cards, it may take a while.
If you already have those dates and accounts somewhere, like in a budget table, you’re halfway there. But take this opportunity to check these items to make sure they match what is listed on your monthly statement.
Sign in yourself
The email you receive every month from your service provider reminding you of your invoice is not enough! Half of these notifications don’t even list the billed amount for that month, and you can either assume, “Yes, that’s probably correct,” or actually look up the login information and see.
If you can’t remember the last time you logged into your cable / mobile / gym / clothing account to check what you are paying for, it’s time to take a good look.
And while you’re there, you can fill in the blanks in the rest of your auto-pay list.
Calendar time!
Grab your calendar and start deferring recurring automatic payments. This shouldn’t be unusual: perhaps “Spectrum / AmEx / $ 55” is all you need to post on the 12th of every month when your Internet bill arrives.
The idea is to make it easier for you to move from your calendar, wherever you manage it, to your financial accounts with regular checks.
Having these dates and amounts on the calendar that you use for everything else will help you internalize those dates and balances, making you more mindful when you review your recent transactions for discrepancies.
Of course, some of your bills – such as utility bills – will fluctuate every month. But the more you know about what is in the “normal” range for all of your accounts, the better equipped you will be to identify a potential problem before it develops into a real problem.