Save Time on Spending Money

You really meant to pay that bill on time, but somehow you keep finding yourself putting the check in the mail at the last minute. Try these three steps to simplify bill paying:

1. Schedule two monthly bill-paying sessions. Sure, you could pay every bill when it comes in. But it's faster to set aside two days a month to pay all the bills due at that time. Write the bill-paying dates in your calendar or send yourself electronic reminders, based on when your bills are generally due.

2. Put all your bills in one place. Well, two, actually. As bills come in, stash them in an envelope, box or file. After you pay them, file them away in a second spot for record-keeping.

3. Set up automatic payments. If you use online banking, you likely can arrange to have many monthly bills automatically deducted from your account.