You Can Do That?

Yes, You Can…

I get asked this question all the of time, whenever I am talking about paying off my credit cards. I will tell people that you can pay more than one payment per month, and they say…You can do that? Yes, You can… The same goes for mortgages, car payments, etc. Just use an online bill pay service, and send multiple payments. Include account number, and indicate that anything over the minimum is to go towards principal. That simple. In fact, for a while, I was sending 5.00 dollars A DAY to one of my credit cards. WHY? I just thought it would be cool.

Other strange things I do?
Well, sometimes I pay my phone or satellite bill BEFORE the bill actually arrives at my house (or in my email). I budget a certain amount, and I send all my payments at the first of the month, even those that come out on the 5th or 15th. That way, I am never, ever late. Plus, sometimes I pay just a tad more than I have to, so I have a credit balance for the next months bill. Take my electricity bill. Averages about 125 bucks a month, but I always send about 140 or so. I know, I am missing out on a little interest. BUT, do you want to know why I pay ALL of my bills on time, or even early. WELL, it’s strange, but true. If something were to happen to me or my wife, some tragedy in our family, the last thing that we will want to think about for a few weeks will be BILL payments. SOOO…I make sure that I am always AT least 20 days ahead on my bills, so my wife will have one less worry should something happen to me. Strange? Maybe, but, that’s how I roll.
Dork.
Last weird thing? I never, ever, ever, ever balance my checkbook. I go online every day, and I keep up with how much I spend, and check numbers and such, but I never actually take my statement and balance it. WHY? Because, I have done SO much with my online banking, with debit transactions, transfers, bill pays, etc. that by the time I get my statement, it is 20 or 30 transactions behind. I just keep a running tally in excel, and I make sure that the online and excel match, along with stuff I have outstanding. (Really though, we only write 2 or 3 old fashioned checks a month, so no big deal)

Oh yeah, I added a cool new “favicon” to the site. You should see a red square, with a yellow “c” and 2 “n”s in your address bar…