Scottiemom wrote: I probably will be in the minority here, but I don't like auto pays or auto debits. I still like paying my own bills. I log into my bank account once a month to pay bills. I go to the bill payer section, click on the payees, type in the amount to pay and submit. If I have 7 bills to pay, I am in/out in under 3 minutes with a printed copy of the transactions. My bank pays most of mine through auto transfer, but for the few businesses that are still in the dark ages and don't use that, the bank actually cuts them a physical check and mails it AT NO COST TO ME. No stamp, no fee, zada, zilch. They guarantee payment within a few days and if there is a dispute, they handle it all. If I ever take it a step further, I will have the bank auto pay them.
Dale
Yep!
YEP Again!
I actually used Bill Pay to send my son a check in March, he travels frequently, and never cashed or deposited the Bill Pay Check. After 90 days my Bank, recredited my account and cancelled payment on the Bill Pay Check. I notified my son, and will send him another one.
I still have 2 personal checks lost in the mail for 5 years now, and have never been seen again. I use Bill Pay for anything and everything. JUST my Nickel's worth (use to be 2 cents, but Inflation!!!)
I use any and every security procedure my Bank provides, and Bill Pay is a no brainer for me.
Good Luck with whatever you decide.
Current Location: Kerrville, Texas
2006 Allegro 34WA
2007 Nissan Sentra
2006 Master Tow Dolly HD80
1999 Aquasport 21 Explorer
I use on line bill paying too because I like to check the bills before they're paid. I have the statements sent to my email account way before they're due so that I can pay them early if we're going out to the boonies and won't have internet access.
Serena wrote: I do not allow other parties access to my bank accounts. That is what you do when you sign up for auto-pay with them. The banking nightmares than can ensue when to try to cancel these kinds of arrangements can be a real disaster.
Much easier to schedule auto-payments from your end via online banking. That leaves you in control, but without a lot of hassle every month.
Thank you after reading all your posts it cleared up the one fact I didn't get with bank bill pay. The way I thought it worked was almost the same as auto debit. I didn't know you could set the bank up to pay your bills but you retain the authority of how much and when.
I'll be glad when all of this, 'getting everything in order', stage of full-time is just a fond memory!
31 ft Four Winds
Chevy Tracker 4x4 BlueOx Aventa LX We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned,
so as to have the life that is waiting for us.
What we've been doing for the past 10 yrs is having all (well there aren't that many) of our recurring bills charged automatically to a reward paying VISA charge card and the VISA charge card is set up to automatically debit our bank account each month for the full balance. Only the bank issued VISA then has access to our account. We never have any worry or concern about 'remembering' to function a payment from our bank nor do we ever have a concern if we don't get mail for a month, that we might miss a bill or have to go on line to find the amount. In addition to the rebates from the CC company, we also get the advantage of the float in that the auto debit from the CC company can be as much as 50+ days after the charge.
Those rare time when we change a vendor and wish to cancel the auto charge to the VISA, we simply put the request/cancellation in writing via mail or email. Should a future unearned charge go through, it is so so simple to dispute the charge to VISA and provide a copy of the notice and the charge is reversed with no hassle.
In fact, we never use cash for anything over $5.00 but charge instead to the same account. The rewards can add up significantly and the need to carry cash is almost nil.
Scottiemom wrote: ... I log into my bank account once a month to pay bills. I go to the bill payer section, click on the payees, type in the amount to pay and submit. If I have 7 bills to pay, I am in/out in under 3 minutes with a printed copy of the transactions. ...
That's pretty much what I do, but I don't bother with the printout; one of the goals here is to reduce the paper involved. I just take a screen shot of the confirmation page. It's much faster and cheaper to generate, easier to store, and I can print it out if there's ever a dispute. Haven't needed one yet, in years of online banking.
Good grief, I never even thought of that. Okay, that's what I'm doing from now on
Thanks!
Dale
Dale Pace
Wife to Terry (Teacher's Pet)
Mom to 2 rescued Scotties
Bailey and Neal
2006 Tiffin Phaeton 40' QSH, 4 slides (Phaeton Place)
2003 Sport Trac Toad
Fulltiming since retiring in 2005
Scottiemom wrote: ... I log into my bank account once a month to pay bills. I go to the bill payer section, click on the payees, type in the amount to pay and submit. If I have 7 bills to pay, I am in/out in under 3 minutes with a printed copy of the transactions. ...
That's pretty much what I do, but I don't bother with the printout; one of the goals here is to reduce the paper involved. I just take a screen shot of the confirmation page. It's much faster and cheaper to generate, easier to store, and I can print it out if there's ever a dispute. Haven't needed one yet, in years of online banking.
Good grief, I never even thought of that. Okay, that's what I'm doing from now on
Thanks!
Dale
Wow I never thought of that either, thanks for the tip. I paid our bills online long before we became fulltimers and cannot believe I never thought of that. Just goes to show, even old dogs can learn new tricks eh! Thanks.
Woodstick and Queen of the North
Woody and Patsy and our Furkid-Oreo, a black lab
38' Sportsmen Sportster Toy Hauler
Pulled by 2003 3500 Dodge Diesel 6 speed Rolling Castle Blog
Scottiemom wrote: ... I log into my bank account once a month to pay bills. I go to the bill payer section, click on the payees, type in the amount to pay and submit. If I have 7 bills to pay, I am in/out in under 3 minutes with a printed copy of the transactions. ...
That's pretty much what I do, but I don't bother with the printout; one of the goals here is to reduce the paper involved. I just take a screen shot of the confirmation page. It's much faster and cheaper to generate, easier to store, and I can print it out if there's ever a dispute. Haven't needed one yet, in years of online banking.
Good grief, I never even thought of that. Okay, that's what I'm doing from now on
Thanks!
Dale
Wow I never thought of that either, thanks for the tip. I paid our bills online long before we became fulltimers and cannot believe I never thought of that. Just goes to show, even old dogs can learn new tricks eh! Thanks.
What is meant by a "screen shot"?
Thanks,
Shirley
Ron & Shirley
2005 Itasca 37B Suncruiser W24 Workhorse Chassis To Discover New Oceans We Must Lose Sight Of The Shore
I always use our online banking to pay bills. Not only is it more convenient, secure, and fast; it is also a way to save money (no more stamps). The bank mails the check/bill and I don't have too.
In online banking, you can view the front and back of your checks. This is very convenient if you ever have to 'prove' it was paid. You can screen print the check (front and back).
Scottiemom wrote: ... I log into my bank account once a month to pay bills. I go to the bill payer section, click on the payees, type in the amount to pay and submit. If I have 7 bills to pay, I am in/out in under 3 minutes with a printed copy of the transactions. ...
That's pretty much what I do, but I don't bother with the printout; one of the goals here is to reduce the paper involved. I just take a screen shot of the confirmation page. It's much faster and cheaper to generate, easier to store, and I can print it out if there's ever a dispute. Haven't needed one yet, in years of online banking.
Good grief, I never even thought of that. Okay, that's what I'm doing from now on
Thanks!
Dale
Wow I never thought of that either, thanks for the tip. I paid our bills online long before we became fulltimers and cannot believe I never thought of that. Just goes to show, even old dogs can learn new tricks eh! Thanks.
What is meant by a "screen shot"?
Thanks,
Shirley
Shirley,
You take a "picture" of the screen on your computer. It saves it like a photo and you can file it wherever you want and can print it out if needed. On my old computer, I used Control+PrtSc. On my new Vista machine, it is Fn+PrtSc. Tapping those keys in combination takes a shot of it and posts it to your clipboard, then you go into Word or Paint, etc., paste it, then file.
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