Do you receive paper bills & staments or have you gone electronic?

[KathyBC]

I admit, I process information better on paper. DH is self-employed and I feel more comfortable with an actual statement in front of me, come tax time. The monthly fees various companies are now charging for the privilege of being billed, however, are really starting to add up.

 

Am I just a Luddite? Should I let go and go paperless? What happens at your home or small business?

[cindergretta]

I like digital. I like logging in and having the ability to quickly and easily locate and read any bill within the last 12 months without having to have huge folders of papers. (I detest and hate paper. Even with all of our bills digital, there is still a metric ton of paper. :glare: It's the bane of my very existence!)

 

When/if I need to have a hard copy (like a utility bill for financial aid) I just go and print off the recent one and submit it. :D

 

Plus, I pay all of our bills through our credit union's on line bill pay. It is free and saves me a load of time and nothing is ever late or lost in the mail.

 

Wow, didn't know my own passion on the subject! :lol:

[KathyBC]

I do pay my bills online. But without paper, where would I write the handy dandy confirmation number? What would I so satisfyingly file away, thinking, "Ah, another month's bills, all paid up." :lol:

 

Seriously though, while I've never calculated how many pages I can print per ink cartridge, I do think I could print them off myself for less than $3/month (per bill!).

[cindergretta]

I keep a ledger (going back through every year of our marriage!!) and I write the bill, the pay period, the amount due, the date due, and the date paid in it. In the box where I write the bill (like - mortgage) I write the confirmation number -

 

Mortgage/5551212 (1) $1234 10/5 10/3

Utilities/12345678 (2) $150 10/20 10/17

 

I use a specific column type of notebook. It is 5 columns and between the first and second column there is a tiny little box, and that is where I write 1 or 2 for the pay period.

 

I love going back and seeing what our bills looked like 5 years ago, 10 years ago, etc. :D

 

(Oh, I forgot, when the payment clears the account, I put a check mark next to the bill name. I love my process and feel very satisfied, if that makes sense. But based on your post, I think you get it! ;) )

[kubiac]

There are a couple of institutions (mostly utilities and investment funds) that insist on stalking us with paper statements that we can't turn off, but we're entirely electronic otherwise. We monitor statements online, and everything is auto-bill-paid anyway.

 

Part of it is just because my husband is a computer guy, and part of it was a deliberate decluttering initiative. We actually have a recycling bin located outside beneath the mailbox and most of those statements and other junk are dumped before they even enter the house. (Our credit is locked so we don't worry about identity theft.)

Edited September 6, 2012 by kubiac

[IsabelC]

I go for electronic everything, whenever that choice is offered. So much easier to deal with. I pay almost everything online, and unless it's really important I don't deal with businesses that ask for cheque/cash payment.

[regentrude]

We pay electronically for anything that is possible. We have set this up to be done automatically for utilities, phone, mortgage - no remembering to pay.

We pay our credit card bills electronically as well (not automatically but by hand); we receive email confirmation that payment has been made, so I am not sure why people are writing down confirmation numbers - don't you get an electronic receipt as well?

We still get monthly paper statements from the utility companies (maybe they are required to send them?), but those can get filed immediately. We only get quarterly paper bank statements.

 

We like the convenience of not having to remember recurring bills, and of doing all our banking through one account aggregator site where you see all you accounts and cards on one glance. We could always print out anything should we so desire.

[Soror]

We receive a paper phone and electric bill, although they are paid automatically. Otherwise we have netflix and a cc that we don't receive bills and pay online

[KathyBC]

(Oh, I forgot, when the payment clears the account, I put a check mark next to the bill name. I love my process and feel very satisfied, if that makes sense. But based on your post, I think you get it! ;) )

 

I totally get it. :D

[KathyBC]

Oh no, these responses are horrible! :lol: The consensus seems to be to move with the times. Really? No one with an opposing view?

[Ellie]

All my *statements* are paper, although we did just make a change in our Internet provider, and that bill will be electronic...and I'll print it out and put it with my other bills. :)

OTOH, I pay all my bills electronically, through my bank. I don't have anything automatically deducted except for Netflix and a small life insurance policy. I've read one too many stories of people fighting with DishNetwork or other companies which I cannot remember now, lol, trying to get the automatic payments stopped after disconnecting service.

 

So I sit down at the computer with my paper bills in my hand, log on to my bank account, pay the bills, print the confirmation page, staple that to the bills, and file.

[Parrothead]

Mostly electronic. I can't get the power company to send a bill electronically. They are still stuck in the dark ages.

[Kathryn]

Combination, but I pay everything online.

[KathyBC]

Yay, Ellie! This is mostly how I do things, too.