I often feel overwhelmed when I get large bills in the mail and my in-box. Bills that come every three months, instead of monthly, are particularly frustrating when I think about how I am going to pay the bill.

One strategy is to treat larger bills as smaller bills more often. Sometimes, people will pay part of a bill when they get their paycheque every two weeks. Or pay once a month towards a bill that comes every three months.

So, instead of waiting for my water and sewer bill to come in once every three months, I pay a portion of it each month. When my bill shows up on the third month, I can see two payments I made the previous two months as credits towards the total cost. I can then pay the remaining amount. This fits better in my monthly budget and then I don’t feel so overwhelmed once every three months.

You can do this with most of your regular bills too, electricity, natural gas etc. The companies may call or email and ask for less frequent payments as it messes up their systems…but you don’t have to!!! You can pay a portion every 2 weeks.

Do you have any big bills that you could pay a little towards more often? Have you tried this before? Did it work for you?

If you want to talk about strategies to manage your expenses or any other financial issues, speak with Caroline. You can contact her at 519-378-4773 (phone or text) or advice@unitedwaybg.org.