Charlie and me were paying our bills the other day. The way we do this is, we sit down and pay ‘em together. It doesn’t take that long. We try to do it every couple of weeks. At least once a month. It helps if you put it in the calendar. I know some folks just do it automatically, right from their paycheck, but we’ve been doing it this way forever and it helps us stay on the same page.
When things are tight (and they have been off and on over the years) bill paying isn’t my favorite thing to do. But the fact is, it’s gotta be done. Easier to show up and deal with things on an on-going basis than to let them snowball and suddenly find yourself struggling to catch up.
I open the envelopes, assess the situation, write the amount to be paid in the little boxes and get the return envelope all set. Charlie writes the checks and does the adding and subtracting. I double check that everything on the check is right: amount, account number. ‘Cause everything now and then the ol’ duffer makes a boo-boo. Happens. For credit cards or loans, or paying ahead on our mortgage, we discuss how much we’re going to send. You can make this work if you do bill paying on the computer, too. The important thing is you both know what’s what, money-wise. No surprises.
I do have two pet peeves when it comes to paying bills, and they both deal with bad design. Peeve number one: when the bill is folded in thirds, but the perforated line for the part that gets torn off and goes in the envelope falls about an eighth of an inch below the fold. Why do they do that? This makes it almost impossible to tear it off evenly. OK, that’s one end of the spectrum. The other is our gas bill, which has a super-convenient, all-in-one system that you practically have to be an engineer to figure out. I’ve seen Charlie do it, but it’s beyond me. You tear off one part and fold something over and their copy is on the inside of the envelope. I don’t have the patience, and after fooling with it a bit, I usually toss it over to Charlie to play with. So much for convenience.
I must say, my favorite part of paying bills is having it behind us. Plus, we always build in something fun to do after, as a reward. You know, the old carrot and the stick idea. Only in this case, substitute bacon for the carrot. Breakfast down to the Busy Bee usually does the trick where I can pair that bacon with a homemade cinnamon roll with maple icing. What’s not to love about that?
That’s it for now. Catch you on the flip side!
Hear Ida Tell It: Bill Paying, Quick and Easy
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