Samantha Joe Smith

Bill Reminder Samantha Joe Smith

Different Ways of paying your billsPrepayment metersIf you have problems paying for gas or electricity you may have to have a special meter fitted. You will either have to buy cards to put into the meter or use a special card that tells the meter that you have made a payment. Electricity or gas bought using a prepayment meter costs more. You may be without electricity or gas if you have no money. Quarterly billsUsually bills are sent every 3 months (every quarter). This can mean that there is a lot to pay at once. You will usually be sent a reminder if you don't pay the bill when it comes. It is a good idea if you are budgeting to put money to one side so that you can pay the bill when it comes. Keep your old bills so that you have an idea of how much to save. Regular payment plansCompanies will usually accept regular payments. These can be made at the post office or at a bank. You can set up a plan with the company to pay weekly, fortnightly or monthly. You will be given a card or payment book. You can use these to make payments. If you miss payments the company may be reluctant to set up another plan. Paying by monthly direct debitThis can be the cheapest way to pay a bill, but only if you have enough money in a bank account. You have no control over how much is taken out of your account. You should be told how much is going to be taken in advance. The amount taken can change from month to month. This may not be the best option if you are trying to work out a budget. Paying by standing orderWith a standing order you tell the bank how much to pay and when. This makes it easy to plan a budget. Some companies don't accept standing orders. They have to estimate how much your bills will be and may be worried that they won't get enough money. If there isn't enough money in your account to pay the standing order you will be charged by your bank. Making a weekly budget for paying your billsTo keep a budget it is important that you know how much you have to spend on your regular bills. It can be hard to work out how much we spend on bills each week because: At different times of the year we may use more gas, water or electricity. We might pay bills weekly, fortnightly, monthly, quarterly or every six months. Quarterly bills: Quarterly means that every quarter of the year there is a bill. A quarter means one out of 4 - so if you divide 12 months (of a year) by 4 = 3 months. So a quarterly bill covers a period of 3 months and comes 4 times a year. Many bills are sent every 3 months (every quarter). This can mean that there is a lot to pay at once. You will usually be sent a reminder if you don't pay the bill when it comes. It is a good idea if you are budgeting to put money to one side so that you can pay the bill when it comes. Keep your old bills so that you have an idea of how much to save. Never miss the payment day of your expenses! With Bill Reminder you can easily manage all your bills and do not miss paying then before its due dates.