For a long while, I've had our two most important bills paid automatically each month--the mortgage and our car insurance. Also, heaven knows, I have lots of automatic savings deposits set up. I've been a little leery of automating any more, but it feels like it's time. I feel more confident that enough money will be in checking to cover the bills as they come due, and I also had that recent scare where I almost forgot to pay a cc bill. So this past week I set up the cable, phone and electric bills and the HSBC cc payment.
I set them all up through the billpay on our checking account, NOT at the payee's end. I don't want some unusually high payment taken out automatically, unbeknownst to me. I set up equal payments to HSBC so it gets paid off in January. The cable bill was easy, as it's always the same. A whopping $10.23. 
The phone and electric company weren't so easy, as the amounts vary. But I figured out that the phone bill averages just under $23 a month, so I made it an even $23. I'll be paying a little extra some months to build up a credit for the months when it's a little higher. The electric bill is a few dollars lower in the summer because we're on their "cool customer" program. (They can cycle off our a/c if demand is too high.) But I set it up for the normal amount; I can just wait and reap the benefit of those overpaid summer bills when they reset our budget billing in the spring.
I'm waiting to do the gas company, as they'll be readjusting our budget billing next month.
Still trying to figure out how I might want to automate cc payments for the cards I'm actually using.
I do feel like I want to build up more of a cushion in checking because of this, even though it doesn't earn interest. It would buy some time for DH if something happened to me, and he needed to figure things out. Also, I've got to write up what I've done and make sure he knows where the info is.
If anyone else has experience in fully automating payments and such, I'd appreciate any advice.
More simplification--automatic bill payments
August 27th, 2006 at 01:59 pm
August 27th, 2006 at 02:51 pm 1156686685
I have a separate account set up at a bank far away that I have limited access to. None of that is necessary, but it helps to keep us away from using that account. My entire pay goes into that account. Most of the bills are automatically deducted (the company takes out the money) and some are automatically paid (the bank pays the company). Fixed bills are easy. Non-fixed are a little more tricky. I log on frequently to make sure everything is running smoothly and nothing was outragiously above normal.
This account is definitely cushioned. Also, I get 26 pays so twice a year I get an extra pay. Every now and then when I accumulate an abundance of cushion, I either transfer some to savings or I send the accumulated funds to the CC.
Because this bank is far away and it is difficult to deposit money outside of my direct deposit, I do not touch this account. In this way, it kind of acts as a savings plan for me. The money just accumulates and I don't touch it.
One last thing.
August 27th, 2006 at 03:10 pm 1156687805
August 27th, 2006 at 03:25 pm 1156688704
But, I also keep a large float in my checking account. Maybe not the most frugal thing to do but it works nicely for my peace of mind. Peace of mind is worth a trade off in interest at least for me.
I'm lucky my two cheques to write are both on the first of the month. Makes it easier not to forget.
August 28th, 2006 at 07:17 pm 1156789066
well hardly ever
August 29th, 2006 at 06:27 pm 1156872427
I keep a copy of all this with my fiancial papers so that my mom or sister could take care of closing all the accounts a such should i die. the passwords for everything are locked up in the safety deposit box that we share so that they can access them if necessary.