For a number of years I had a brilliant strategy for paying my bills. Since most of my payments are made online, I would pay them in the last couple of days before they were due. Since my bank accounts compound interest daily, the longer I wait the more interest I get on my money. We’re usually talking pennies here, but I pick up pennies on the sidewalk so I’ll take them for free in my bank account too.
But lately I’ve run into some problems with this method. I don’t know what it is, but I blame DC. I never had this problem back in the south, but I do now. Let my itemize the payments I’ve missed over the last year (rent, insurance, cable twice, power twice). That’s a total of 6 missed payments. Thankfully I’ve gotten overage fees removed almost every time (except power but the fee was less than a dollar) but this is ridiculous. Have I gotten sloppy with my online payments? Or is something else at work?
Something else is at work. Despite being a decade old, online bill-pay systems seem to be getting less and less reliable. I’m submitting the payments on time and have the records to prove it. But bank accounts are refusing withdrawals and sometimes the payments just don’t get processed. I have a bit of IT experience but nothing to the level that would allow me to understand what’s going on here.
So it used to be a good idea for me to wait until the last second. But now, to avoid the headache, I’m paying them as soon as they come in. That way I can monitor the payment and make sure it goes through. For a couple of bills I’ve gone back to WRITING CHECKS. CHECKS. I thought I’d never write another check but then 21st century technology fails and I go back to the stone-age of payments.
The next company to mess up a payment is going to get paid in pennies, I got plenty of pennies.
 By The Weakonomist |
The Weakonomist is the founder of Weakonomics. Clicking the picture of the puppy will tell you more about him. If you like what you're reading consider subscribing to the blog, following him on Twitter, and checking out the related posts below. Please consider a donation if you really enjoy Weakonomics. Also keep in mind that nothing I say can be construed as financial advice. |
