What Have You Been Missing?

Am I paranoid, or are they really trying to overcharge me?  In the past six months, we changed our ISP, entertainment, and phone service, saving us $150 each month.  I have had to call five months in a row because my bill was wrong – sometimes up to $200 in errors. 

I shopped our insurance rates, and it’s reassuring that we already have a company with the best rates and reliable service. Our homeowners’ insurance company had the wrong start date on the policy, and we were able to get it corrected and have two additional months of coverage.

We reduced one bill that provided redundant services and will save $240 a year, and I did find an error on our medical insurance bill dating back to August, and we are getting a refund for $200. 

All this is from reading the monthly statements for our bank, credit cards, cell phone carrier, and reviewing the insurance bills at renewal time.  Except for the phone service and insurance, I accomplished most of these savings in January.  Is there anything you have been missing on your statements?  How would you know?

I’ll admit that reading statements and bills is not very entertaining.  I’d rather be perusing travel brochures and planning our next escape.  That is my motivation for being vigilant about our money – I want to travel and experience new adventures as often as possible.  Our next trip keeps me inspired to save now and enjoy soon enough.

I’ve talked about this before, First Step to Control – Review Your Bills.  You don’t have to look at every detail on your 401K account, but make sure that your contributions are showing up right, and that the money is being invested the way you had it planned.  At least once a year, have a face to face appointment with your financial advisor to ensure your investments are doing what you need them to do.  Your goals may have changed, and you want to ensure your securities are still the best choice for you.

Starting today, read all the statements that you receive in the mail or e-mail for the next thirty days.  See what you observe about the bills, note any follow-up needed. Make the calls to get things fixed.  You are more in control of your finances than you were a month ago.  Feels good, doesn’t it?  Now, you can browse the internet for your next adventure.

Balance Your Checking; Control Your Money

By Susan Wilson, MBA

Controlling your finances means understanding all of the money-related statements that your receive online and in the mail.  I don’t look forward to reviewing them; it’s a tedious task, but an important step to see everything is o.k. with your checking and savings accounts.  Here’s a list of things I have found myself and heard through my clients:

Life Insurance on Boat Loan (my hubby before we married)

 

Forgotten Gym Memberships

Unwarranted Overdraft or “Convenience Fee”

ATM and Credit Card Fees

Purchase Amount Errors

Unwanted Payment Protection Plans or Subscription Services

 

Yikes!  These are usually not small fees, and removing that $15 monthly life insurance on the boat loan (yes, the heirs would get a paid-for used boat) is instant money saved.  I just look through the line items and make sure they are legitimate. I look for any surprise fee hikes or excessive ATM fees I didn’t anticipate.  This is how you take control – know what is happening to ALL of your money.

One more thing - make sure you receive all of your statements if you have more than one account.  Awareness of address changes can prevent identity theft.  (Think exes and businesses you frequent.) It’s not the latest Moscow gang taking our ID’s, it’s most likely someone we know. 

This is one more action to take towards controlling your finances that doesn’t take money out of your pocket.  Hopefully, you’ll find some places you can recover money.  Now, don’t take all the findings and celebrate – pay off that nagging credit card bill that won’t go away.  Now, that’s control.

Please share what you found on your statements.  Learn more about taking control of your money at www.moneywiseadvisors.com 

Get Online Bill Pay Already!

By Susan Wilson, MBA

 

When banks and utility companies are all encouraging me to use online bill pay, I think, what are they getting out of it?  My money, of course.  What am I giving up?  Hassle, stamps, check fees, possible late fees and last minute changes on the amount I pay.  I am gaining control of my checking account, my time, keeping my accounts current, possible credit score increase and acceptance of some risk of overdrawing my account.

 

Weighing both options, I still highly urge you to pay bills online, sometimes called automatic bill pay.  There are a couple of ways to get set up:

Pay through the company billing you

Utilities, insurance, and even the DMV have online bill pay options.  You can pay with a credit card or from your bank account. Don’t worry about identity theft, their websites are safe.  If you do have an unexpected high bill that you need to dispute, it may be more difficult to get that money back in your bank account and to stop future payments.  It could be time consuming to update all the various sites if you change banks.

Pay through your bank

Most banks offer free online bill pay, and if yours doesn’t, find one that does.  Pay anyone on time and accurately.  The bank pays most electronically, while the gardener or babysitter will receive a paper check in the mail.   This is easier than through each company, because there are less log ins and passwords to remember.  You can also stop payments any time.   Decide how much and when to pay, streamlining the time you spend paying bills. 

Pay through bill-paying service

There are several companies who offer this service for a fee.  It can be used even if you have more than one bank account.  It is convenient and a quick way to streamline your bill paying.  Here is a website that compares some of the bill paying companies .

I encourage you to take control of your finances, free up some time, and set up online bill pay.  Gather your bills, select one of the options above, and get it started.  Figure out whether paying through the biller, your bank, or a bill paying service is best fitted for your circumstances, and make the switch.  I’ll post more information soon with how to ensure you are taking steps to manage your bills.  Remember, you are in control when you tell your money what to do.

First Step to Control – Review your Bills

A strong first step for you to take to control your finances is to review all of your bills.  Gather a month’s worth of paper or online statements.  Get settled in a comfy chair with a shredder highlighter and your stack of papers (or computer with electronic statements). 

Here are some things to look for:

1.   Look at whose name(s) are on the account – is there an ex who shouldn’t be?

2.   Is the address right so you don’t miss any statements?

3.   What kind of fees did they charge you: over limit, late payment, payment processing

4.   Does the balance appear to be correct

a.   What is the minimum payment?  How much will it take to pay off in three years? They are required to provide that information on your statement.  Pay Off Loan Calculator

b.   What is the due date? 

c.   Review the interest rate(s) for the balance(s)

5.   Review all transactions every month

a.   You typically have 60 days to dispute an error with the card issuer and have the charge removed

b.   Credit card fraud sometimes starts with a very small charge to see if the card number is valid – catch it quickly and report

6.   Ensure your most recent payment recorded correctly

7.   Review the special messages section to see if they are increasing any interest rates, or making other changes to your account

The point of this review is to help you control your finances, and not every action step requires throwing money at it to make it go away.  One of the big things this review does is ensure you are not a victim of credit fraud, a lingering ex using your card, or a processing error by the credit card company.  Prevention and early resolution of errors will save you from the larger crisis that looms around the corner.