Get it Together with Online Banking – and Bill Pay
- By:Brit Hall
It’s never too late to streamline your finances, but with our New Year’s resolutions still on our minds, now is the perfect time for each of us to start managing our money efficiently – and in one simple location: Online.
If you haven’t tried Online Banking, let me just say this – it can make your life a lot less complicated. And because all of your accounts are in one convenient location, it makes getting organized and staying organized easy.
Some of the highlights of Online Banking include:
Bill Pay:
Obviously this handy little feature allows you to pay all bills online, but you might not have realized that it will also help you save time and money. Think about it. Online Bill Pay saves you trips to the mailbox and post office, time writing checks and saves you money because there are no more stamps to buy. And if the companies you deal with offer e-Bills, not only do you have the option to pay all bills online, but you can also elect to put an end to those paper bills that keep cluttering up your mailbox – and your house.
Online Statements:
With online statements, not only can you see what’s happening on your account, but instead of leaving a paper trail for identity thieves lurking about your mailbox, you can elect to turn off those paper statements and view up to 18 months of checking account statements online, instead (at least that’s how it works at my bank – Bank of America). Again – less clutter all the way around.
Managing accounts:
In addition to Bill Pay and the option to pay all bills online – at Bank of America (which again, is the bank I use), they offer tools that allow you to view all of your accounts online, including non-Bank of America accounts, in a single, secure location. Using just one Online ID and Passcode, you can reduce the amount of time you spend online managing all of your accounts – because they’re all right at your fingertips – and in one convenient, safe location.
So instead of spending another year wading through junk mail, losing your bills, making late payments, losing track of your money and being generally disorganized, it’s time to stop the madness and sign up for Online Banking – and Bill Pay. It’s a simple start to a more organized, more streamlined new year.
Now that your banking and bills are all lined up – next project: Your junk drawers (but you’ll have to tackle that one on your own).About the author:
Brit Hall is a freelance writer – and Bank of America customer – who writes articles for young adults about managing expenses, eliminating debt, and other personal finance issues.
