9 Bills You Should Never Put on Autopay
9 Bills You Should Never Put on Autopay
Dec 15, 2022 By Valencia Higuera
We can all use a simpler, more efficient way to manage expenses and save money. Putting your bills on autopay can ensure never forgetting a due date, which minimizes the risk of late fees and dings on your credit report. But although automatic payments can save time and streamline your personal finances, it isn’t the right choice for every expense.
Autopay is ideal for payments which don’t fluctuate every month, such as your mortgage and car payments. You know what to expect from these bills, so it’s easier to plan and budget for automatic drafts. This isn’t the case with monthly expenses that fluctuate. Before you get excited and put your entire financial life on autopilot, here are some bills you should never put on autopay.
Cellphone
If you have an unlimited cellphone plan and your bill never varies, autopay is a time-saving strategy for managing payments. There’s also the option of setting up automatic payments for a non-unlimited cellphone plan. The problem, however, is the amount you owe can change from month to month, depending on data usage. And if you forget to read your cellphone statement in months where you owe more than usual, the extra funds taken from your bank account could trigger an overdraft and bank fees.
Some cellphone plans also don’t have the same billing date each month. While you might have a set date — say the 15th — others have a monthly cycle which varies depending on the number of days in the month. This doesn’t guarantee a consistent payment date each month. You could be caught off guard, or out of funds, if a payment posts when you weren’t expecting it.
Since autopay is a hands-off approach to paying bills, you’re also less likely to inspect your cellphone bill after setting up automatic payments. This means you might not catch billing errors and will pay more than necessary.
Utilities
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