Automatic withdrawals are great, no more forgetting to mail out a check or call the creditor with your credit card numbers. The drawback, however, is forgetting about how many of those convenient withdrawals you have and how much they are for.
If you have set yourself up with multiple withdrawals be sure to keep a close eye on your accounts. Each month look at the bill your creditor has sent you and make sure you’re accounting for the corrected amount.
By using accounting software like QuickBooks you can memorize transactions and have it alert you a few days before the payment comes out. If the amount changes monthly you can also update the payment amount.
Setting yourself up with a little spreadsheet can also help remind you of the bills that are coming up. I like to mark my desk calendar as a visual reminder.
Many banks and credit card companies have also started text reminders that will give you a notice ten days in advance of your next scheduled payment. You must sign up for these alerts in order to get the reminders.
It’s easy for anyone with multiple withdrawals to forget from time to time. Some find it much easier to just keep a printed spreadsheet posted next to the computer they pay the bills from and every Monday they know where their money is going.
Try to remember the automatic withdrawals versus your income. Only automatically have set up what you know you will have.
