Anyone NOT go paperless for bills? - Page 2

[crunchy_mommy]

Originally Posted by Mulvah 

I know I'm bumping an old thread, but I wanted to see how you felt a year later. 

I don't have problems with keeping old documents, but I am really having a hard time with going paperless. I may start with our mobiles and see how that goes.

Wow old thread! Fun! I have been doing pretty awesome with this I think!! I took it just one bill at a time... first was internet since my employer reimburses me for it (and I provide all the substantiating papers to my company electronically) so it seemed least threatening. Then I switched the cell phones and slowly just about everything! I don't regret it at all, I wish I'd done it sooner.

I still get my quarterly water bill in paper since that's the only option, but I throw it out after it's paid.

I chose to keep my checking account in paper since they send me copies of my checks which I need for tax purposes. I also kept my credit card bill paper because I just feel the need to have it (that's how I pay most of my bills so I guess I like having a paper record that I've paid them??) I might be able to forego the credit card one, not sure. But it's awesome not to have the rest cluttering up our counters and desk drawers & filing cabinets. DO IT!!! Even if you're not ready or will never be ready to do it with all your bills, start with the ones you can!!

[Mulvah]

Originally Posted by crunchy_mommy 


Wow old thread! Fun! I have been doing pretty awesome with this I think!! I took it just one bill at a time... first was internet since my employer reimburses me for it (and I provide all the substantiating papers to my company electronically) so it seemed least threatening. Then I switched the cell phones and slowly just about everything! I don't regret it at all, I wish I'd done it sooner.
I still get my quarterly water bill in paper since that's the only option, but I throw it out after it's paid.
I chose to keep my checking account in paper since they send me copies of my checks which I need for tax purposes. I also kept my credit card bill paper because I just feel the need to have it (that's how I pay most of my bills so I guess I like having a paper record that I've paid them??) I might be able to forego the credit card one, not sure. But it's awesome not to have the rest cluttering up our counters and desk drawers & filing cabinets. DO IT!!! Even if you're not ready or will never be ready to do it with all your bills, start with the ones you can!!

Thanks for the update; I'm glad you're happy with your decision.  I switched our mobiles to paperless billing last night, so we'll see how that goes. 

[~Adorkable~]

one trick for online bills that dont go back very far is to download each months statement and start a electronic file system for them, then they will get backed up with the rest of your stuff and they are easy to find and look at.

[kitchensqueen]

We do a combination. For the bills that we can pay online for free, we're paperless. We still pay by mailed check for the accounts that charge an online filing fee, so we get the bills for those. We keep everything for 1 year, then it gets shredded. Exception to that is anything tax-related, that we keep for 7 years. If your most recent bill reflects that your account is in good standing, there's really no reason to keep more. 

[Glimmersnaps]

Thought I'd chime in here even though this is an old post...

I have made the transition to paperless and it's great. One thing that helped me with organization was making a chart with all my bills. There is a row for each month and column for each bill (water, cell phone, energy, etc). Whenever I pay a bill online, I just make a note of the date, amount, and payment method in the corresponding box. I keep the chart in a binder with other home-related stuff. It helps if I have a moment of doubt about whether something has been paid I can flip it open and check. 

[worthy]

I recently made the decision to go back to paper.

I need the physical, tangible reminder of each bill and the ritual of writing checks.  (I write checks for almost everything because I have those duplicate checks so it's easy to remember what to put in my money spreadsheet.)  Also, once a bill is paid and gone, then I'm not wondering if I remembered to pay it.

I have a spot where I just put all the bills as they arrive.  I pay them once a month (or twice if money is too tight for once.)  They don't take up much space and they look tidy since it's just a handful of bills in their envelopes.  I also put little notes in that pile of things I need to remember to pay by a certain date that are not bills, so I won't forget to factor them in.

I went mostly paperless and decided it was too mentally complicated for me.  So I decluttered the mental stuff, LOL.  Now I don't think about bills until I sit down to pay them, and my inbox isn't stuffed with bills and reminders (that I was mostly deleting anyway). 

Of course, I pay bills with the recycle bin next to me, and once it's in the envelope ready to go, the remainder of the paper gets recycled immediately.  Works for me, feels simpler than paperless, and also doesn't feel like clutter since it's just a small tidy pile of bills in a specific spot (standing up so they don't magnetically attract clutter, LOL)

[erigeron]

I haven't gone paperless because I'm lazy, but I pay all the bills online now. Instead of keeping the bills as a reference, I made a list of what bills need to be paid at the end of the month and what bills need to be paid at mid-month. When the time comes, I just run down the list, go to each website, and pay it! Easy as pie, and a lot easier than keeping track of emails or paper bills. (Maybe less workable, though, if you are in the kind of situation where you may not have the money to cover the bills when they fall due and have to take creative measures to pay them.) My husband used to be in charge of the bills and he'd forget to pay stuff and run up late fees, so now I handle everything except his student loans (who knows what he's doing with them!)

There's always automatic debit too. Those make me nervous personally, but some people like them.

[Youngfrankenstein]

Originally Posted by worthy 

I need the physical, tangible reminder of each bill and the ritual of writing checks.  (I write checks for almost everything because I have those duplicate checks so it's easy to remember what to put in my money spreadsheet.)  Also, once a bill is paid and gone, then I'm not wondering if I remembered to pay it.

This is me.  I get a hard copy of each bill so I can read it and remember to pay it.  I still pay most of the bills online but I like the paper trail.  I only keep a year's worth of statements.

I'm really trying to get my financial house in order and I think the paper really helps me.

[Katie8681]

I get paper bills for everything. With the exception of the student loan payments, which I autodebit for absolute safety against defaulting, as soon as I get the paper bill I sit down at my computer and schedule the payment to electronic pay. Then the paper bill gets tossed. I would autodebit more but most of the bills change from month to month, and I like to know exactly how much is going out.

[EarthyMamaofDaisy]

I'm paperless with my bank statements but not for the electric bills.  I'm on assistance and I always seem to need a handy copy of my electric bill to prove residence.  I file them in my home management binder.