5 Tips for Juggling Different Payment Deadlines for Your Bills

Nobody likes paying the bills every month to start with, but juggling multiple bills with different deadlines can take this routine chore from a drag to a major headache. When your day-to-day life is as fast-paced and busy as most peoples are nowadays, it often seems harder than ever to stay on top of your financial obligations—but the consequences for falling short are as dire as you’d imagine. Late payments are likely to be subject to late fees or other penalties, which will eat even further into your monthly budget. Plus, making a habit of paying late is likely to damage your reputation with creditors. This may make it difficult for you to qualify for other forms of credit in the future.

On the flipside, you’ll find that consistently paying your bills on time unlocks a wealth of advantages for your financial life. Beyond saving you money, it’s just much better for your peace of mind to take care of all your dues ahead of time so you’re not scrambling to catch up as your next deadline draws near. It’s also to your advantage if creditors see you as a trustworthy borrower, as this can improve your credit score and pave the way for better loan terms and interest rates in case you ever need to borrow money.

Rest assured that all the benefits of timely bills payment can be yours easily with the right strategy—even if you have to deal with many different payment deadlines at a time. Here’s how:

Consider Paying through Your E-Wallet

The innovations of the digital age have unlocked newer and easier ways for consumers to pay their bills. Fortunately, most billers will be eager to take advantage of these developments if it improves their chances of getting paid on time. For instance, e-wallets now come with bills payment features that allow you to pay certain bills directly from their platform, using your wallet balance. Some, like Maya in the Philippines, even offer rewards like bills payment cashback for using this feature. In some cases, e-wallet payments are credited faster than payments made through other means. As such, it may be ideal to settle as many bills as you can through this method as possible.

If you have a preferred e-wallet you already use for everyday financial tasks, it’s worth scrolling through their selection of billers to see what you can readily pay through the app. Paying through your e-wallet also has the benefit of streamlining the bills payment process; your bills may have different deadlines, but at least you’re not struggling to remember different payment methods along with them. Instead, you can settle each bill easily in just a few steps using one reliable app.

Schedule Electronic Calendar Reminders

Never underestimate the power of a scheduled reminder to keep you on-task with your bills. Mark your calendar with your due dates alongside chores, errands, and other daily tasks, so your phone or PC can keep track of them for you. For best results, you’ll want to set your reminders at least a few days before the actual deadline to give your payments time to clear. If you’re unsure how much lead time to set, don’t hesitate to call your creditor and ask how many days in advance they recommend paying your bills.

Some service providers like Maya also let you activate push notifications through their apps. This way, you can customize your alerts for things you want to stay updated on—including your due dates.

Sign Up for Reminders via Email

Many creditors these days provide bill payment reminders via SMS or email, so go ahead and take advantage of these services if they’re available. You may also want to go fully paperless and ask them to send you your bills via email for convenience. With these measures in place, it will be easier to pay your bills as soon as you receive them instead of putting them off until the last minute.

Plan Your Future Service or Loan Applications Accordingly

In situations where you have to apply for new subscriptions, service plans, credit cards, and the like, try to time them based on your existing bills. Check the FAQ section on their website or ask the providers for more information. For instance, a mobile phone service provider might tell you that your due date is 20 days after the cutoff date of your billing cycle. Meanwhile, some subscriptions may set your due date on the day you sign up—if you create and activate your account on the first of the month, then that will also be your payment deadline until you cancel your subscription and renew on a different date.

While you can’t exactly coordinate your due dates for all your bills to be on the same date, you can plan your future applications so that their deadlines are as close as possible with your existing bills.

Pay in Advance

While your banks, lenders, and service providers might set payment due dates, it doesn’t mean that you have to pay exactly on those dates. If your situation allows it, pay some of your bills in advance. Aside from getting things settled as early as possible, this is also one way of consolidating your bills so that you don’t have to worry about making payments on multiple days.

With a strategic approach on your side, you’ll soon find there’s no need to be scared of your bills, even if you have to manage a lot of them from month to month.

A little proactive communication, supported by the right tools and technologies, is often all you need to take the stress out of the process. You’ll enjoy all the benefits of timely bills payment as soon as you settle into a system that works for you.