Clark recommends getting your credit card bills by mail (click to see why), and some people prefer mailed mortgage statements. Which bills do you prefer in paper vs. paperless?
The only bill I get in the mail is my water bill, because they do not offer an electronic option at this time…no surprise as its a county government run entity.
My Sister came to live near me. Because she will take over my farm in the event anything happens to me, I have some things sent via mail. It saves having to add her to many accounts or give her passwords, etc.
One of the rare occasions I disagree with Clark. 1. Mail is unreliable. 2. One can view statement online. 3. One can print your statement online. 4. One can set a payment date online. I am probably in a minority of people who use the online statement to record each transaction in Quicken when I set up payment. I would suggest that only the most computer illiterate should get paper statements.
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I agree. I track my cards in Quicken. I will know within a day, at most two, if there’s a bogus charge and not wait until the monthly statement.
When the statement is generated, I get an email letting me know, and I download and e-file it. And I read it, especially to look for any “notices” which might change the terms and conditions of the card.
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I get my water bill USPS because there is no other option.
Petty me, I also get my Target Redcard bill via USPS because Target locked me out of online access for no explained reason 8 years ago (took 2 months for them to resolve). So they can pay postage to send me a paper bill. Because who knows when they will have another glitch? I check and pay online, for now.
I get most of my bills in the mail…only ones that i don’t, they dont provide a hardcopy option, or it costs more. But I pay all online. Works best for me.
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One of my bills is impossible to view online. I can see what they say I owe, but no line item breakdown for this utility. If i did not get the bill in the mail, i would not have an itemized copy of what I am being charged for…couldnt print a copy of something that doesnt exist.
I get my bills and statements online and save PDF copies to the Google Drive. So much better than paper
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The only bills I get on line are those that have an incentive to do so. Usually a condition to get a deal.
If there’s an option, I choose snail mail. I can access most things online… but when (not if) the Internet goes down I don’t want to be dependent on it alone.
I also keep some funds in banks that I can drive to and talk to real people. I understand that banks are dependent on the Internet for their operation but they also keep some cash on hand for things like the Internet going down.
Clark has done so much to teach me about credit and how it works. I have to respectfully disagree on this one however. Online access allows me to keep an instant tab on what I spend. I use credit cards like debit cards. What I charge is exactly what I spend and it gets paid immediately when it posts. Unless you are ocd enough to keep a pad and write down every swipe, a paper bill is an “open and pray” proposition. I once got 40,000 in debt that way. Now I carry no debt and pay no interest. The secret to financial stability is knowing where you are in real time.
Receiving a paper copy of your bill does not prevent you from paying online. Most of my bills come in the mail, but i pay everything online.
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I have all my transactions in Quicken and I reconcile them once a month which means that I look at all the individual charges just as I would with a paper bill.
All my bills arrive electronically.
I also have created a new GMAIL account which family members can access, thus bills for the house like insurance are emailed there and not to my personal email accounts.
Almost 83, widower living alone, in “iffy” health and nearest relative 800 miles away, I rely the online bill feature. They are all set to autopay, so if [when?] I am hospitalized [again] I have no fear my critical bills won’t be paid.
Also, heirs have access to my bills and banking in case something goes south.
I autopay the bills that are always the same amount. There are a few that vary, and a few that are sporadic, not regular. My sons have access to my computer to easily pay those, and if i know im not going to be available, i schedule them well ahead of time.
Also, many credit card website allow you to set alerts – when a payment is due, received, etc., when a transaction is made, payment received…and so on. I find those very helpful. I get alerts via text and email – so if one is down, the other will provide the alert.
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It’s interesting to see all the excuses for not wanting to receive snail-mail paper CC bills.
It proves to me that we are by nature lazy, and that the persistent marketing efforts, by just about every billing source to get us to accept email billing, has paid off for our creditors and service providers.
When the chips are down nothing beats a paper record. Especially a record of a debt you have to pay. With no paper record, you as a debtor, are at disadvantage.
For those reasons, I agree with Clark on this one.
I don’t consider mine to be an excuse, but rather a reason, and a good one.
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