Catching up.
So, I finally got over my trepidation of 20th century technology, and signed up for on-line bill pay.
I think I rejected this idea when it was new and companies were still charging you for the convenience of paying straight from your bank account, and then never really revised my thoughts on the matter. I liked the conscious act of sitting down and paying the bills because it made me think about how much money we were spending, about how much of a difference it was going to make every time I turned the heat up instead of putting on another sweater. It seemed to me that without the hassle of writing checks and procuring stamps every month, it would be too easy to just pay it and forget about it.
I've finally come to terms with the fact that most of my accounting is done on-line now -- that I'm more likely to check my balance on the computer than I am to keep a checkbook register or even a quicken account. I've also come to terms with the fact that I tend to get super-busy and forget about paying bills until one or two of them are late. Now that my credit card company is charging 30% APR, that's not a mistake I can afford to make anymore... not paying off that bill on time and in full gets really expensive really fast. Being able to do this on-line means I have finer control over how that gets paid and when.
You may all commence the head-patting and tongue-clucking now.
I think I rejected this idea when it was new and companies were still charging you for the convenience of paying straight from your bank account, and then never really revised my thoughts on the matter. I liked the conscious act of sitting down and paying the bills because it made me think about how much money we were spending, about how much of a difference it was going to make every time I turned the heat up instead of putting on another sweater. It seemed to me that without the hassle of writing checks and procuring stamps every month, it would be too easy to just pay it and forget about it.
I've finally come to terms with the fact that most of my accounting is done on-line now -- that I'm more likely to check my balance on the computer than I am to keep a checkbook register or even a quicken account. I've also come to terms with the fact that I tend to get super-busy and forget about paying bills until one or two of them are late. Now that my credit card company is charging 30% APR, that's not a mistake I can afford to make anymore... not paying off that bill on time and in full gets really expensive really fast. Being able to do this on-line means I have finer control over how that gets paid and when.
You may all commence the head-patting and tongue-clucking now.