How to make bill management easier

It can be hard to keep track of bills. Some arrive by post, others drop into your inbox and others come out as direct debits. Some companies may even keep your card details on file. This can make it difficult to remember which bills have arrived, which ones you have paid and which ones are due.

Without a clear picture of what bills are coming up, it’s hard to set money aside for them. You can then be left unprepared for months when extra bills are due. This can leave you not only stung with late fees or overdue payments, but having to dip into savings or make trade-offs with your everyday expenses to make sure they are all paid. 

But there are ways you can plan ahead for your bills. Here are a few ideas to consider.

Calculate your bills

Once you know how much your bills and essential expenses are, you can work out how much to set aside for them. You might like to use our Budget Planner to tally up these costs and split them into fortnightly payments, so you know how much you need.

Plan for the unexpected

If you’re not sure how much your bills might be, estimate the costs then add a bit extra. When you set your budget, make sure you account for your annual, monthly and quarterly bills so large bills don’t come as an unexpected shock. Don’t forget to factor in your annual car registration and services, visits to the dentist as well as events such as weddings and birthdays. 

Automate your bill payments

It can be difficult to remember which bills have been paid and when the next ones are due, then when you miss them you are charged late fees. You can take some of the mental load out of bill payments by using BPAY, setting up a direct debit or scheduling a bill to be paid automatically.

You may find planning ahead easier if you can see all your bills in one place. If you’re with CommBank, you can do this with BPAY view, so you can see and track your bills together.

If you use the CommBank app, you might like to try Bill Sense, which predicts what bills you have coming up, based on your transaction history. You can add bills to your timeline so you can see what is due and when for the next 12 months. This can help you to set money aside for your bills.

Talk to your utility providers

If you find paying quarterly utilities bills difficult, It’s possible your utility provider other options. Get in contact with them to see if you can make fortnightly or monthly payments.