I am using my nice bills binder right now to put my water and swere bills into for paying next week, and for grabbing my mortgage statement to pay tomorrow.

I also just put my electric use summary in the sheet protector i have to keep those (for comparison over the year on electic use patterns). This is in the Electric Divider.

My dividers are :

Internet
Electric
Water/Sewer
Cell Phone
Mortgage


I may add one for misc. This binder is purple with pinstripes and has nice matching dividers with pockets. It's really easy to use. I got it for a few bucks at staples or something when they went on sale - half inch wide. With a sharpie, I wrote Bills Binder on the side cover. I keep a purple pen that says "I am so proud of you" in the inside pocket, and also an extra checkbook that is just for writing bills.

This solution is SO MUCH easier than any other bill paying organization method I've tried before. I love it. And the pretty color makes it nicer to do the deed of check paying.

I also write the bill due dates on my large House Calendar that hangs in the entryway, and then highlight them yellow.

I check my calendar first thing each day and then last thing at night. otherwise I remember nothing.

Dear Jilly -

That is awesome, that you have found a system that works well for you! It sounds like a great technique!

Thank you! I am really pleased with this. I don't know why i didn't do this one two decades ago, when i first started paying bills.

If I treat everything in life as if it's school, everything goes so much better! I am good at school and not so good at life.

Seriously, i wish this kind of thing had been taught to me somewhere down the line.

Dear Jilly -

I agree completely that schools should teach life skills like this. These are the things young people need to learn how to do.