How to Keep Track of Bills: A Simple System That Works

The simplest way to keep track of bills is one list and one calendar. Write down every bill with its amount, due date and how often it repeats, then put each one on a calendar next to your paydays. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) suggests marking a pay-by date 7 days before the due date for bills you pay by mail and 2 days before for bills you pay online. Add a reminder for each, and look at the calendar once a week.

Here is how to set it up in an evening.

Why bills slip through the cracks

Bills arrive in too many places. Some come by mail, some by email, some only show up in an app. Some are on autopay, some you pay by hand. Some are monthly, and some come every few months or once a year. When the due dates live in five different places, one of them eventually gets missed.

One list fixes that, because everything is in a single place you check.

Step 1: Gather a month of bills

The CFPB’s bill calendar tool starts with a simple instruction: collect all your bill statements from a single month, plus the statements of any bills you get online.

Its own examples of bills to include:

• utilities
• rent or mortgage
• phone
• memberships
• cable
• credit cards
• car payments
• student loans
• child support
• insurance

Also scroll through your bank and card statements for charges that repeat, like streaming services and app subscriptions.

Step 2: Write down four things for each bill

For every bill, note:

1. The name, for example “Electric”.
2. The amount, or a typical amount if it changes.
3. The due date.
4. How often it repeats: weekly, monthly, every few months or yearly.

An example list might look like this:

Bill	Amount	Due	Repeats
Rent	$1,200	1st	Monthly
Electric	$95	8th	Monthly
Phone	$45	12th	Monthly
Car insurance	$540	March 15	Every 6 months
Credit card	Varies	20th	Monthly

The CFPB tool also reminds you not to forget birthday, holiday and school expenses, or bills due every few months or once a year. Those are the ones that surprise people.

Step 3: Turn the list into a bill calendar

Take a monthly calendar and, following the CFPB’s steps:

1. Label it with the dates of the month you are planning.
2. List all your bills.
3. For each bill, mark the date you will pay it: 7 days before the due date if you pay by mail, 2 days before if you pay online.
4. Mark the days your income arrives.

Now you can see the weeks when the most money is due, and whether your paychecks land before or after them. If you are paid every two weeks, our guide to lining up bills with biweekly pay goes further.

Step 4: Decide how each bill gets paid

Each bill can be paid one of three ways:

• Autopay. You authorize the company to take the money from your account on a schedule. The CFPB says that if the amount will differ from what you authorized, the company must tell you at least 10 days before.
• Your bank’s bill pay. You tell your bank to send the payment to the company.
• Paying by hand. You pay each bill yourself, online, by phone or by mail.

Autopay removes the risk of forgetting, but it does not remove the need for money in your account. The CFPB warns that if your balance is too low when a payment is due, your bank and the company may both charge fees, and those fees can add up quickly. Keep autopay bills on your calendar too.

Step 5: Set reminders and check weekly

Set a reminder a few days before each pay-by date, so you have time to move money if you need to. Then pick a day each week, like Sunday evening, to look ahead:

• What is due in the next seven days?
• Is the money there?
• Did last week’s bills go out for the amount you expected?

You can set reminders in your phone’s calendar, or use a bill tracker app. Billo, for example, reminds you 3 days before each bill and again on the day, and lets you mark a bill paid with the date. You add bills by hand, so there is no bank login to share.

Shared bills need one owner each

If you live with a partner or roommates, decide who pays each bill and write that next to it on your list. Bills with no clear owner are the ones that slip, because everyone assumes someone else paid. If you split a bill, note who sends money to whom and when, and put that transfer on the calendar too.

A tip for credit card due dates

Under federal rules, your credit card’s due date has to be the same day of the month every billing cycle. That makes cards easy to put on a calendar. Our guide to avoiding late fees covers what else the rules say about card payments.

Keep it simple enough to last

The system that works is the one you are still using in three months. Keep one list, keep the reminders automatic and keep the weekly check short. Once every bill is in one place, due dates stop being surprises.