Watching Your Wallet: Autopay

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - Putting money into your savings account and paying bills automatically are smart moves but experts suggest not paying all of your bills this way.

Typically, having a part of your paycheck automatically go to savings right away is the perfect setup. It’s also great for paying some bills, too, just not all of them.

If you want to protect your credit score from getting dinged by late payments, you set up autopay for your bills. It’s simple and foolproof. You may even save a small percentage on your bill by choosing autopay.

So, it’s great for many bills, but again, not all of them.

According to AAA, you should have your mortgage or rent automatically paid. You can do the same thing for loans, and as mentioned before, it’s a great way to automatically put money away for a savings goal or retirement.

But not all bills are the same. You might want to still write a check or do a specific money transfer each month for bills like your utilities. That bill varies and it’s a good idea to check it each month to make sure you’re not getting hit with inappropriate fees.

The same goes for your cell phone and credit card bill. It’s a good habit to look those over each month to make sure you’re paying the right amount and not an amount that is listed because of a mistake.

Also, keep this in mind - don’t put subscriptions or memberships on autopay. You may not use those anymore and before you know it, you’re signed up for another year. Put a reminder on your calendar or on your phone reminders to decide what to do before it’s time for renewal. That might save you some money.

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