Paying bills and savings

How to pay your bills on time?

It is difficult to manage money, to pay bills, especially when they start to pile up. What can you do?

Keep your bills in a folder. If the bills are in digital format, save them in a file on your computer. Keep control of payment due dates.

Choose the payment method that suits you best. Direct debit is usually the cheapest and easiest way to pay bills, but there are more options.

Paying in an online bank is easy and you keep more control over your payments than with a standing order.

Paying in advance. Paying bills for electricity, water, etc., which are fixed in advance, is the most expensive way to pay your bills.

Do you share responsibility for paying bills with your partner? How do you proceed?

Check your bills regularly. You may spot errors, see if your expenses are increasing or perhaps decreasing.

You can check payments on your bank statements.

Make sure you are not paying too much!

 

What if you can’t pay your bills?

If you find it difficult to pay your bills, don’t ignore the problem or it will get even harder. Talk to your creditors as soon as possible. They may allow you to pay in smaller instalments until your financial situation improves.

If you are struggling to pay your debts, seek advice from specialist organisations.

 

What about savings? How can you cut household costs?

The quickest way to do this is by limiting energy consumption.

If you have a boiler, reduce the temperature to 60 degrees.

Lower the temperature to 18 degrees on thermostats, especially in rooms that are not in use.

Unplug devices from the network/power.

Reduce the frequency of washing clothes and wash them at a lower temperature (30 – 40 degrees Celsius).

Do not use a clothes dryer if possible.

At night, close the curtains and lower the blinds to maintain room temperature.