Frugal tips for the busy person

Does your checking account pay you interest?  If not, take a lunch break and open a free interest-bearing checking account.  Nearly every bank is offering one.

Use banking software like Quicken or Microsoft Money to keep track of your expenses and scheduled payments (explained soon!) and have it installed on a safe computer that is convenient to you.  Be sure to keep up with it.

Don’t pay your mortgage late, but look at the dates.  Often mortgages are “due on the first” and “late on the 15th”.  Check and see what your mortgage company’s policy is.  It is often printed on your statement.  They usually don’t report late payments until they are 30+ days late.  Using this example, that means that they’d prefer you paid it by the first, but you have until the 15th to pay without any penalty.  This is a feature because mortgage companies know that life is full of circumstances beyond your control, so be careful with this tip.  Instead of paying by the first, schedule your payment online with a date that is more comfortable for you, say the 10th but make sure your money is in the bank by the 1st.  Now, from the 1st through the 10th, you will earn interest in your mortgage payment.  If you don’t, the mortgage company will!  In Quicken or other banking software, enter the payment with the paid date as the scheduled date.

Don’t stop there, schedule all of your payments.  Say your credit card payment is due on the 14th.  Instead of sending a payment now, schedule it online to pay on the 14th or earlier.  You will be getting the interest on your own money and won’t have to worry about remembering these deadlines

Once you get the hang of this system, it’s pretty handy.  Just be careful as you’re learning it.  You may be able to schedule all of your bills on just one day a week and not have to worry about it for the rest of the week!  I love using technology to make my life easier and to free up time for things that I enjoy like my friends & family, my pets, my clients, and of course blogging!