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There are a number of reasons why you might want someone to pay your bills on your behalf.
Perhaps you’re currently trying to work through impulsive spending issues and you need support to manage your money responsibly.
Maybe you’re someone who’s having trouble being able to take care of all of your bills efficiently. Or maybe life is just too busy and you would like to outsource this task.
Regardless of the reason, some may find themselves asking how can I hire someone to pay my bills?
If you can relate to the above, here’s what you can do and some alternative suggestions to make managing your monthly bills simpler.
#1. Set Up Automatic Bill Pay Options
Before the internet, bills had to be sent to you and you had to pay either over the phone or via mail.
The good news? That’s certainly not the case today.
Now you can take advantage of automatic bill payments to avoid the hassle of keeping all your bills down in one place and making sure you pay them on or before the due date.
Whether you’re paying off credit card debt, a car payment, or other bills, signing up for these programs makes it so that the money is automatically withdrawn from your checking account when it’s due.
You can use auto bill pay one of two ways.
First, you can sign up with your credit card company or the utility company directly. You give them access to your bank account and they will electronically withdraw money from your account on the day the bill is due.
There are a few downsides to this option. The biggest is they could make a mistake and withdraw more than the bill.
Every so often you hear on the news that a person had $22,850 taken from her checking account when the bill was $228.50. While the money will be returned, it is a nightmare to go through.
The other issue is you need to make sure you have the cash in your checking account, otherwise it will get overdrawn and you will owe fees.
The other option is to pay your bills online through your bank website. When you pay bills online through your bank, you control when the money is sent.
You also ensure that the correct amount is being sent out. But you have to stay on top of every monthly bill.
Some banks will allow you to schedule a date to always pay bills, but if the amount changes every month, this is not ideal.
#2. Create A Visual System
Out of sight, out of mind can often apply to things like paying bills.
If you haven’t opted in for text messages or emails from the various institutions that you pay bills to, it can be easy to lose track of what you need to pay and end up missing important bills.
The best way to avoid this is to create a visual system where you’re able to see everything at a glance and guarantee that those get paid on time.
For example, if you have plenty of space on your walls, investing in a big calendar and putting post-it notes or reminders where bills need to be paid can help you stay on track month-to-month.
It’s a bit more work, but if you have trouble tracking all of your bills, it can be a great way to make sure you don’t have certain things turned off or make the situation worse by plunging yourself into debt.
#3. Use Budgeting Services
Given that personal finance plays such a crucial role in your life, it only stands to reason that there’s an app for that.
In fact, there are plenty. Budgeting apps abound in today’s world, making it easy for you to see all of your spending, income, and other financial data in one place.
One great example is Tiller Money.
Here, you can set savings goals, spending thresholds for various budget categories, and even use the bill payment tracker to see when a monthly bill is due.
If you need extra support, you can always use a calendar software like Google Calendar or turn to reminders on your phone to make sure that you’re always in the know about your bills.
The more reminders you have around you, the less likely you are to miss an important bill coming up.
#4. Use Rocket Money
Rocket Money (formerly TrueBill) is an app that many people know help you lower your bills by negotiating them.
They also help you identify and cancel unused subscriptions too. But many don’t realize Rocket Money also has features than can help with paying bills.
While they don’t have a specific automatic bill pay feature, they do have budgeting and alerts.
This would be a great add on if you want to have the companies you deal with automatically withdraw money from your checking account.
By using Rocket Money, you can budget your money and get alerts on your phone when your balance is low, helping you with avoiding late fees.
#5. Trim
Trim is a competitor to Rocket Money that also negotiates your bills for you.
They have a budgeting feature and alerts that will let you know about low balances or when bills are paid.
But they don’t have a specific automatic bill pay feature. However, one major difference is they have TrimPay.
This allows you to pay off your credit card debt faster by transferring money from your bank to Trim so you don’t spend it.
#6. A Professional Daily Money Manager
Having someone pay your bills isn’t something that many people will pursue, which is why it might seem so hard to find the resources needed to make it a reality for you.
However, there are individuals and companies out there that will manage your bank account and pay bills on your behalf.
This person is known as a daily money manager.
While daily money managers can handle all the bills you might have, the reality is that they can help you far more in the financial department.
These professionals are often enlisted to help those who are unable to pay their bills or manage their money for one reason or another, such as elderly clients who need support.
As such, they can take on a host of financial activities such as preparing tax documents, making deposits or withdrawals from your bank accounts, and other financial transactions and activities in your financial life.
The good news is that in addition to hiring and paying someone to pay your bills, technology is also able to help you. Below you will find the pros and cons to each.
This guarantees you can pay your credit card bills every month.
Using A Daily Money Manager
Hiring someone to help manage your finances isn’t for everyone. This is because not only is there a cost involved, but you have to allow them access to all of your daily finances.
Many people are not comfortable with this idea.
With that in mind, if you do think you want to go down this road, there are some considerations to make should you want to enlist the help of a professional money manager.
For starters, you could look into the American Association of Daily Money Managers or AADMM. They are a national membership organization that offers financial services, including bill paying to clients.
They work with everyone from those with disabilities to elderly clients, and even people who struggle with money management.
They do have a code of ethics and a certification process, but you would need to vet the person to make sure they are a good fit for you.
Here are some questions to ask yourself when you’re looking into these services.
Why Hire Someone To Pay Your Bills
There are all sorts of reasons why someone might want help paying bills. The most common is because life is busy and you never get around to paying bills.
Sure you might make one payment here and there when due, but you still miss payments. As a result, you get charged late fees that only tightens your budget more.
If this sounds familiar to you and you want help with bill paying and to no longer pay late fees, read on to find some solutions to this problem.
How Long Has This Company Or Individual Been Around?
Do they have a legitimate website? Do they have prior evidence of their satisfactory work?
For a service like this, it’s not uncommon for scams to appear in order to take advantage of those who are not capable of managing their finances or paying their bills.
While it can be an uncomfortable truth, there are real helpful services. You just have to make sure that you’re vetting each one to guarantee that they’re a real company offering a real service rather than those targeting a more financially vulnerable population.
Can They Provide Any Customer Reviews?
Before engaging with a professional daily money manager, having client reviews that give you a comprehensive overview of their services and how well other clients have received them in the past is key.
Ideally, you want the contact information so you can call the person and ask them questions.
While it is easy to put up fake review online, it is harder for real people to give fake feedback when you speak directly with them. And when they try to, you can usually spot it.
Speaking specifically of online reviews, ask yourself if these reviews look fraudulent? Can you find them on multiple review sites written the same way?
Is the review verified? Is the person making the review look credible or is it just a name followed by a series of numbers?
Beware of user reviews that are fake and designed to make a service look better than it actually is.
How Much Money Do They Charge?
If the rates are going to cut into your budget significantly, are there any other alternatives you can consider that will help you get the same job done for less?
Are there other daily money managers out there that potentially charge less without sacrificing quality? Take a look around to better understand what your options are and who is the best professional for your financial needs.
Will Hiring A Daily Money Manager Solve Your Problem?
This is an important question to ask yourself. For example, if you’re someone who has issues with impulsive spending, a daily money manager might not be the most effective person to help you get back on track financially.
Take the time to understand your finances to you can make the best decision.
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I have over 15 years experience in the financial services industry and 20 years investing in the stock market. I have both my undergrad and graduate degrees in Finance, and am FINRA Series 65 licensed and have a Certificate in Financial Planning.
Visit my About Me page to learn more about me and why I am your trusted personal finance expert.