Late with Auto Pay!
Auto-Pay Blues😨
I'm a big fan of auto-pay. It ensures that bills are paid on time to prevent late fees and interest. Most of my bills are scheduled for payment using auto-pay, and typically it works just well. Recently, however, I discovered that bills I thought were paid through auto-pay had not been paid. How did that happen? I can only blame myself. You see, setting up auto-pay is great, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't be paying attention; I learned that set it and forget it is not the best approach.
Why my utility bill was over $400?😱
I received an email from the utility company with the balance of my utility bill. When I saw the number, I nearly lost my mind. It was over $400, the highest utility bill I'd ever received. Yes, it had been freezing, but this couldn't be right, could it? After some investigation, I learned that the bill was 3 bills in one. The previous bill, stacked on top of the current bill, stacked on top of the final utility bill from the last home. WHAT!?😱😭😠 But I paid those bills! So I thought. I just moved and set up autopay for the new address, already had it set on the old address, and figured everything was good. It was not. The good news was that this ridiculous bill was not for just one month (whew!); the bad news was I owed a lump-sum of money plus late fees because auto-pay did not pay.
Lessons Learned🙋🏫
- Lesson 1 - Plan on making payments manually after a move. I most likely overlooked some fine print when the final bill arrived and when the first bill arrived.
- Lesson 2 - Auto-Pay is great, but it's important to verify the payment is made. If I had checked my account, I would have noticed that the funds had not been debited/withdrawn and could have been aware of the situation much sooner.
- Lesson 3 - Set a Reminder. Add the auto-pay dates to your calendar so that you can keep an eye out for any issues. Make sure the bills have been paid.
- Lesson 4 - Set it but don't forget it. Auto-pay is a convenience, but human interaction is still needed.
Managing Money like a Boss means setting yourself up for success. Automation can help you accomplish tasks easier but still requires monitoring. You are still in charge!
Often you'll notice that I weave in my own experiences when discussing financial topics. I do this for many reasons. For one, I am human, and I make mistakes; if someone can learn from my mistakes, I believe it is worthwhile to share. Second, what I share is real; the things discussed are real and hopefully relatable.