Being able to set it and forget it when it comes to your money might make paying bills a lot easier.
Before you set up auto-pay for all of your accounts, keep in mind that while it can make life easier, it can also cause problems if you’re not careful with how you utilize it.
After all, setting up automated payments means letting money to leave your bank account on a monthly basis to pay your credit card company, mortgage lender, cell phone provider, subscription service provider, and so on which may be terrible if you don’t keep track of all those debits. (As a side note, you could set up auto-pay to charge your credit card instead, but only if you’re confident you’ll be able to pay off your charges each month.)
THE CASE FOR AUTO-PAY
You’re making it easy to achieve your objectives. The most obvious benefit of auto-pay is the ease with which you can pay your bills. But, perhaps more importantly, auto-pay makes it easy for you to achieve your own goals, such as paying yourself first. You’re creating a permanent line item in the budget for these goals by automating procedures like paying down a credit card or transferring money to a savings account each month. Essentially, you’re prioritizing them higher on your priority list rather than allocating whatevers left at the end of the month to them.
You’re getting rid of paperwork.
Because the majority of the paper trail is electronic, auto-pay results in less paperwork and fewer invoices in the mail. That’s great news for your filing cabinets, as well as the environment. Plus, says Kathleen Burns Kingsbury, a financial therapist near Burlington, Vermont, If you travel a lot, its a fantastic method to make sure your payments get paid if youre not home to receive them.
You might be able to save money.
Electronic payments can save you money in apparent ways there are no stamps to buy, and it’s much easier to prevent late payments and penalty costs but they also have hidden advantages. Some lenders, such as student loan providers, give consumers who use auto-pay for their regular invoices a minor interest rate discount. Several phone companies will give you more data or bill credits if you sign up for auto-pay.
Auto-pay can also help you keep track of your expenditures, especially if your withdrawals are near to payday. You can’t blow the money on an impulse expenditure if it isn’t in your bank account because it has already been allocated to your important bills.
You’re assisting in the maintenance of your credit score.
Your payment history (i.e., whether or not you pay your bills on time) accounts for 35% of your FICO credit score, making it the most important element. As a result, setting up auto-pay for your bills might assist ensure you don’t miss payments that could lower your credit score. Additionally, lenders and credit card issuers are more likely to offer you better terms, such as reduced interest rates, if you have a higher credit score.
THE CASE AGAINST AUTO-PAY
You could feel less engaged in your financial life. If you’re the sort who likes to keep track of every single line item in your budget, Kingsbury warns that auto-pay may stray too far into “out of sight, out of mind” zone.
Furthermore, you may ignore errors that occasionally occur with auto-pay, such as double payments, missed payments (which firms may penalize you for even if it wasn’t your fault), and fees you haven’t seen before, all of which could indicate fraud.
Your financial flow may be a problem for you.
Auto-pay may not be for you if you live paycheck to paycheck and have little cash left over at the end of each month. A single incorrectly timed debit could result in an overdrawn account, bounced checks, or a cascade of missed payments, with all the penalties that entails.
You can become too accustomed to making minimum payments.
If you just pay the minimum amount due on high-interest debt (and some lenders only allow you to pay the minimum amount due), you may be making it more difficult for yourself to pay down those obligations.
If you can afford it, you should put more money toward high-interest credit cards or private school loans, for example, to avoid paying more in interest over time.
Enrolling in auto-pay may make it more difficult to make one-time, large payments to your account, such as doubling down on a car payment if you receive a windfall.
You can end yourself paying for items you don’t use anymore.
Consider music and video streaming subscriptions, gym memberships, online gaming platforms, subscription boxes, membership sites, and even unused storage vaults. All of these things can quickly and unnecessarily deplete a budget.
Once a year, Kingsbury suggests going over all of your auto-pay expenses to see what stays and what goes. She also recommends ensuring sure your auto-pay withdrawals are made from a single account so you can keep track of everything in one location.
THE FINAL VERDICT
If you’re devoted to staying on top of your money and have some wiggle room in your budget, auto-pay can be a wonderful thing. Basically, if your bank can easily handle several automated payments and you have a solid handle on your spending and are confident you won’t go overdrawn, go ahead and set up auto-pay.
If controlling the money that flows in and out of your bank account causes you stress, you might want to reconsider using auto-pay. It’s possible that you’ll need to fine-tune your budget and spending before setting up any recurring debits.
Consider the following questions before setting up auto-pay if you like the idea but require flexibility from time to time:
It’s also a good idea to keep a paper or electronic document with all of your auto-pay amounts in one location so you know what you’re paying each month. While auto-pay can make your life easier, it isn’t a budget-fixing panacea.
What does it mean to set up automatic payment on a bill?
An automatic payment agreement is one in which a creditor agrees to remove funds from a credit card, checking or savings account to pay a bill on a regular basis. It’s typically used for monthly payments like a mortgage, rent, or utility bills.
What’s the difference between bill pay and automatic bill payment?
The term “autopay” refers to the process of automatically deducting payments from your account. You have complete control over the amount and frequency of payments. Your bills are channeled through E-Bill (utility, credit card, loan, etc.)
Pros
- You can save money by doing the following: Customers who set up automatic payments with some lenders may qualify for interest rate reductions.
- You won’t have to keep track of individual bill due dates: Your bills will be paid at the designated time once you’ve set up your payments.
- You can prevent late payment penalties by removing yourself from the equation after automating payment. This also eliminates the chance of payments being forgotten (and missed). That’s valuable insurance against service interruptions, fines, and possibly credit score loss.
Cons
- You might go overboard: If you forget about your financial accounts’ automated drafts, your account balance may fall below the amount required to cover your scheduled bill payments.
- You could be charged costs: If you don’t have enough money in your account to cover automatic payments, both your banking institution and the vendor may charge you fees.
- You must keep track of your account balances: Take a look at what could happen if you don’t!
What bills should not be set up for automatic payment?
Your water, gas, and electric bills will fluctuate every month unless you’re on a budget plan with your utility company that allows you to pay a predetermined amount every month. As a result, it’s generally a good idea to avoid setting electric bills on autopilot.
Signing into your accounts each month to start one-time payments is required. You’re more likely to study statements before making a payment in this instance. It’s also easier to spot odd price rises if you analyze your statements on a frequent basis.
A larger water bill, for example, may signal a water leak in your home. If you have this bill set up on auto-draft and never check your statements, a leak could go unnoticed for months, causing significant damage to your house and your wallet.
What is the most efficient method of paying monthly bills?
It’s time to set up your payment system now that you have your list and your schedule.
You can indicate whether you want creditors to debit the minimum due, the full total due, or another amount when you set up automated payments with them (if the accounts allow it).
While many lenders accept automated payments from bank accounts, you may also have the option of charging your regular expenses to one of your credit cards for certain monthly responsibilities.
However, only use a credit card to pay your monthly bills if you’re confident you’ll be able to pay the card off in whole and on time. Otherwise, you risk accruing a debt that will accrue interest, undermining your attempts to remain on top of your payments.
What happens if you pay before the AutoPay period expires?
AutoPay will not process for that billing cycle if you make a complete monthly payment before the due date. AutoPay will process the whole monthly amount owing on your account even if you make a lesser payment that isn’t enough to cover the full amount due for the month.
What is the most secure method of paying monthly bills?
Consider the following online payment methods if you want to make your online shopping transactions as secure as possible.
Credit cards
Credit cards are, by far, the most secure and safe payment method available while shopping online. To keep your accounts and personal information safe, credit cards use online security features like encryption and fraud monitoring. Most issuers also provide zero fraud liability, which means you won’t be responsible for any fraudulent charges made to your credit card.
Due to provisions in the Fair Credit Billing Act, you can only be legally liable for up to $50 in fraudulent charges on a credit card, in addition to the zero fraud liability coverage offered by credit cards (FCBA).
ACH payments
You can transfer funds straight from your checking account to another bank account via Automated Clearing House (ACH) payments. This payment network employs a variety of security measures to protect your financial information, including encryption and access limits.
Voice payments
According to the PYMNTS and Visa 2020 How We Will Pay Study, 23 million people who own a speech device, such as an Amazon Echo or Google Nest, utilize it to make purchases while going about their regular lives. Set up a credit card with zero fraud liability as your preferred payment method if you want your voice payments to be more secure.