Do you autopay your bills?

[donheff]

I auto-pay everything I can on credit cards and auto-pay the CCs from checking. I don't like to be caught away from home with tablets and no laptop and get caught with an overdue bill. I too often get screwed up with mobile devices and banking. I haven't been able to automate real property taxes so far but that is not a big deal. My checking account has penalty free overdraft protection. If I go over it makes an automatic loan to checking and notifies me. I straighten things out in the next few days and pay a deminimis interest charge.

[frayne]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Onward I don't auto-pay prop taxes or anything else (except where it's absolutely required). I trust myself more than I trust auto-pay, and I like being able to control exactly when payments get made. I would especially avoid auto-paying directly from a bank account. Your money is missing while any "mistakes" get ironed out.

+1

[RetireAge50]

Everything except property taxes is automatic. I do monitor the accounts to make sure everything is legit. Also manually transfer money periodically for large purchases and vacations.

[audreyh1]

Our county’s uses actweb.acttax.com to manage their property tax reporting and collection. That’s how I get my statement online. You can pay by credit card with a 2.5% fee, or by “eCheck” where you give the the routing information. ACT apparently manage the tax stuff for 4000 taxing authorities. http://actweb.acttax.com/act_webdev/acttax/index.jsp

[RE2Boys]

Give someone the authority to raid my checking account for what "they" think is due them? You gotta be kidding. I've tried it and have had to go thru the trouble of getting refunds several times, no thanks.

I use electronic bill pay, but I must initiate the payment. Any auto-pay, if necessary, is only done through a credit card with established dispute procedures, ie, I refuse to pay as the charge is in error, write letter to cc company, win dispute, and I'm not out any money except for a first class stamp. I've had several instances of a company taking several months to stop taking money at their whim and me having to fight for a refund.

Property taxes can't be paid through auto-pay in my area anyway so moot point.

[ExFlyBoy5]

Everything is autopay to CC except water service and electricity which comes from checking account (they don't do CC debits) to maximize my cashback.

Our property taxes can't be done automatically and I usually set up a draft. I would use a CC, but they charge a 3% fee to do so.

Also, we keep a minimal amount in checking, but is tied to a CC for overdraft protection....have yet to have an issue.

[ls99]

No.

[davebarnes]

I auto-pay T-Mobile because they give me a 10% discount for doing so.
I manually pay everything else as I want control.
I also manually pay as it makes it easier to decide which credit card to use to get the most points.

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by davebarnes I auto-pay T-Mobile because they give me a 10% discount for doing so. I manually pay everything else as I want control. I also manually pay as it makes it easier to decide which credit card to use to get the most points.

Right. We do too - by credit card.

All last year American Express Blue gave me 10% off US telecom company charges. That was sweet! I even bought a new phone through T-Mobile and got the discount!

[iloveyoga]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cathy63 I autopay everything except our primary credit card and the property taxes. SD County does not have autopay for property tax. They don't even let you schedule the payment in advance, just process it upon submission.

+1

[pb4uski]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RE2Boys Give someone the authority to raid my checking account for what "they" think is due them? You gotta be kidding. I've tried it and have had to go thru the trouble of getting refunds several times, no thanks. ...

Never had a problem in 6 years... I would only do it with vendors that I know and trust. I can always kiil it with them and/or my bank at anytime of my chosing and I know far in advance how much they intend to draw as I get the bill long before they pull money from my account.

Absolute worst case is that I move all my other autopays to my other checking account, transfer all the money to my other checking account and when they go to draw it they get a NSF.... it might take me an hour to do all that.

[Onward]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RE2Boys Give someone the authority to raid my checking account for what "they" think is due them? You gotta be kidding.

+1

[Midpack]

We autopay everything possible!

And when we have to write a paper check these days, we say to ourselves “are you kidding?”

[bada bing]

I automate everything - and I mean everything - that it is
possible to automate. All bills that will take credit card autopays
are set up. The credit cards themselves auto-pay in full every
month from checking. Bills that don't take or charge convenience
fees for credit cards are set up to auto-pay from checking. My
paycheck is auto deposited to checking. My savings deductions
for 401K, HSA and brokerage happen automatically. My 401K,
brokerage account, IRAs and HSA all auto-invest and auto-rebalance quarterly into my chosen AA.

I have written 5 checks so far in 2017 according to my check register. I am pretty good about instinctively knowing approximately where my bank balance is and I am lucky that my income after my automated savings is more than sufficient for what I generally spend. I virtually have no budget, but my spending equilibrium has stayed below my means.

The reason I do this is that I am flaky about money management. I am the opposite of a control freak - I don't pay attention sometimes for months. I've been doing better checking on things in the last couple years but I'm still absent minded and easily distracted. The plus side of automation is that I now enjoy a perfect 850 FICO8 score and my investment performance is far better in the last decade of hands off. 15 years ago I had crappy credit and miserable whipsawed investments.
I am much better off and happier with benign neglect. I know that isn't the case with everyone, especially on a forum like this, but a person has to know their own personal limitations.

[Swordplay Charlie]

I still like writing those monthly checks for all my bills.

[Music Lover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pb4uski Never had a problem in 6 years... I would only do it with vendors that I know and trust. I can always kiil it with them and/or my bank at anytime of my chosing and I know far in advance how much they intend to draw as I get the bill long before they pull money from my account.

Same for me. I only auto pay utilities and property taxes (monthly). Credit card payments or any other payments are done manually.

[RE2Boys]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Midpack We autopay everything possible! And when we have to write a paper check these days, we say to ourselves “are you kidding?”

While I do not use autopay, I also do not write checks except to buy Boy Scout popcorn. I let the bank write and mail checks if the organization doesn't accept electronic payments.

Difference is that I initiate the fund transfers, not the vendor at his whim

[pb4uski]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RE2Boys .... not the vendor at his whim

A bit ignorant... it isn't at their whim... it is based on my instructions as to what to pay when and I can withdraw or amend those instructions at any time of my chosing.

If they do not follow those instructions then they do so at their own legal peril.

Quote:

Stopping an automatic, recurring payment: If you have regular, automatic deductions from your checking account (to pay for expenses such as insurance premiums or utility bills), the EFTA allows you to stop those payments. First, notify the vendor. Next, tell your bank about your request at least three business days before the money is scheduled to be transferred. Your notice to the bank may be oral, but the institution may require you to provide a written follow-up within 14 days to ensure that no additional payments are made. If you fail to provide a written follow-up, the bank is no longer responsible for stopping future payments. Stopping an automatic, recurring payment on a credit card is different. Start by putting in your request with the vendor. But if the vendor continues to charge your credit card, contact your card issuer. You'll have 60 days to dispute the charge, starting when the card issuer sends you the statement with the charges. "Any time you need to stop a recurring payment from your checking or credit card account, it's a good idea to put your requests to the vendor and to the financial institution in writing, so that you have a record of it in case of a dispute," explained St. Germain. Also, even though your financial institution may stop some payments, you may still be legally obligated for other payments depending on your contract with the service provider. For example, if you sign a contract to receive and pay for certain services for 12 months, and you cancel before the end of the agreement, you may still owe the entire amount.

[harley]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sengsational From best to worst: Give my credit card number directly to the vendor (no extra fee) Pay using my bank's "check-free" type solution Give my account & routing number directly to the vendor I don't let anybody do the last thing. So nobody pulls directly from my checking account. In other words, I don't give out my bank's routing number & my account number. No "pulls" for me, because if they take your money, you're just out of luck. And if they get hacked, then the hackers have what they need to pull money out.

That's a rather silly concern. Anybody who has ever written a check has given someone their routing and account number, and an example of their signature for that matter. And probably their home address and phone number.

I've been autopaying some bills for over 15 years, and have never had a problem. I pay everything electronically except a few bills that don't allow it. I could probably use the bank bill pay for them, but it's just as easy to write a check for the very few (lawn guy, mostly).

I do it in your 1, 3, then 2 order. I basically autopay everything that is the same (or pretty close) each month, and personally e-pay everything else. Again, I've been doing this for both my personal and business bills for a long time, and have never had a problem (knocking on wood as I type this). If I had a problem I might be a little more paranoid about it, but so far so good.

[pb4uski]

1, 3 and 2 order for me too.