Do you pay all your bills first and eek out a living on whats left or...
By ronnyb
@ronnyb (6113)
Jamaica
January 25, 2010 11:47am CST
Or pay some of your bills and ensure that you have excess for survival to the next pay day .Right now I am bill free (well untill the next wave of bills come next month) but PENNILESS.Somehow I feel more comfortble paying all my bills and then trying to survive rather than the other way around because I cant take the constant hassle of bill collectors.
So what is your strategy when it comes to paying bills on a monthly basis ?
7 people like this
25 responses
@cyberfluf (4996)
• Netherlands
25 Jan 10
I am that kind of person that will pay all the bills first and then makes a living out of whats left. Somehow it wouldn't feel right not paying my bills straight away, and therefore I'd rather have less money for groceries than ending up having even higher bills because of administration cost and what so ever. It just wouldn't feel right and in the long run it's more expensive aswell.
@cyberfluf (4996)
• Netherlands
25 Jan 10
Thank you so much for denoting me with best response, have a great day!
1 person likes this
@sarahruthbeth22 (43143)
• United States
25 Jan 10
By sher luck my bills are spread out so I can pay half with the first pay and the second half with the second pay. But if they all came at once, I would budget my money in a way so I could pay my bills and eat at the same time.
1 person likes this
@sarahruthbeth22 (43143)
• United States
25 Jan 10
Check with your creditors , they may accept a lower payment. I finally got caught up with my cable bill. i would pay more than half I owed but not all . They just added the balance to the next bill. Good Luck.
1 person likes this
@ANTIQUELADY (36440)
• United States
25 Jan 10
HI RONNYB, paying my bills has always come first. what's left i manage to live on. Thankfully i don't have any big bills anymore like house or car payment, thank heavens they are paid for. It still takes everything i draw to live w/paying utilities, innsurance on myself, house & car, groceries etc. It is hard to keep your head above water but where there is a will there's a way.
@ANTIQUELADY (36440)
• United States
25 Jan 10
U hang in there sweetie, u will make it. I have alot of faith in u.
@srganesh (6340)
• India
1 Feb 10
That is a nice question.I am not a salaried employee but a simple businessman.So,money will not be a threat like you.Even then,I like to pay all my bills and i always give priority to them.Else,i have to suffer a long queue and even penalty for late payments which I consider unwise.
@maygodblessu44 (7336)
• India
7 Feb 10
Hello my friend ronnyb Ji,
Well,I do not encourage your way of livig, I would not be able to properly breath under debt, I want to make my budget first for coming month, and make adjustments, in case required, make budget always surplus for rainty day, I never copare, what otehrs have to say about my standard of living. I do not buy anything on-line, or with credit/debit cards, everything will be purchasedon cash terms, so I have feeling of spending. I do not have to clear my bills and wait for next payment. By the way do you make any budgets also. It would be good to make.
May God bless You and have a great time.
@RachelleNH (1396)
• United States
25 Jan 10
They're all due around the first of the month, so I pay them all one week and am flat broke for 2 weeks. I'd say I probably have one week out of the month where I actually have spending money :) I love the feeling of being free of bills but hate that broke feeling!
@clouds0327 (1389)
• Philippines
25 Jan 10
That's what I do also. I have 2 weeks broke but I am bill free. And that is more important. Just dont like the thought of being paid for hard work and not fully enjoy what you deserve. But that's life you know.
@gitfiddleplayer (10362)
• United States
26 Jan 10
I would rather pay my bills and know that I have taken care of my responsiblities before I play.
@paula27661 (15811)
• Australia
27 Jan 10
We get paid fortnightly and I added up all my bills over the year and divided the amount by 26; the figure which resulted is the amount I take out of our fortnightly pay and place it into what I call our ‘bill account’ so I can be sure that I will always have enough to cover everything. There is not usually very much left once all the major expenses have been taken out and that is the sad part, but at least, this way it’s harder to overspend!
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
27 Jan 10
My husband gets paid on a weekly basis, so there is no way that I would be able to pay all of our bills at the beginning of the month and eek out a living on what is left over. I set up a schedule for which bills are going to be paid each week and that way we still have money every week to buy groceries, gas, etc. For us this is what works the best because we have a house payment and a credit card plan that are our large bills but we also have our small bills that have to be paid. It isn't that terrible, but sometimes it is tough.
@vandana7 (100617)
• India
26 Jan 10
I too pay my bills before I start my survival. That way I know what I can afford and I cant. As long as I have monies in my hand, I'd always feel tempted to spend more than I can afford. But how are you going to survive for another month! If such is the case, then I would negotiate with my creditors to give me a break, and collect their monies at higher interest rates after some of my other debts get over.
@madteaparty (2748)
• Japan
26 Jan 10
I`m like you when it comes to bills. I prefer to pay first all the bills as they come and then survive with what I got left.
I feel more at ease if I have gotten rid of all my monthly bills, so I prefer doing this. Otherwise I would feel worried, and I am going to spend that money anyway paying them sooner or later.
@lilyrayne (107)
• United States
26 Jan 10
Lordy lordy, if there were just more paychecks and less bills wouldn't life be grand! I find myself at the end of the month with a jar of change that gets cashed in for last week of the month groceries, seems to get harder every year!
@RobtheRock (2433)
• United States
29 Jan 10
I've learned from past experiences to pay my bills first and trying to survive with whatever money I have left. My rent and phone are most important because my Internet bill is attached to the phone bill and I must keep it on because that's where I do most of my work.
@butterfly2009 (23)
• United States
26 Jan 10
I usually pay whatever bills I can with the first paycheck and save enough for food, gas, and other needs. Then pay the rest with the second paycheck. It can be rough sometimes, but I seem to always manage.
@walijo2008 (4644)
• United States
26 Jan 10
Well all our bills come due at different times of the month, so it seems I'm having to pay something every week. Luckily my husband gets paid weekly, so we've always got the funds to cover them. I was just thinking today as I paid the last bill for this month, our electric bill came in the mail for next month already, then its time to start all over again..ha.
@singuri (571)
• India
26 Jan 10
Now I pay the bills on the last day of payment.First I live wit h the money .I am always not sure that the money I have for me is sufficient or not.Why to pay the bills at the beginning of the month if you have the time to pay them.Even if have excess money I don't the money in advance.Pay them at last.But i pay them within specific time even in situations when I have little amount with me.
@kaylachan (71762)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
26 Jan 10
To be quite honest, I pay the bills at the first of the month. I have no other choice in the matter. My bills have to get paid, otherwise I wouldn't have water, eleteric, or a roof over my head. without that roof nothing else really matters. I only get paid once a month so its not like I have any other money coming in. With that in mind, I have to pay the bills and can't have them hanging to the last minute.
@mcdreamy25 (74)
• Philippines
26 Jan 10
this is a nice strategy if you want to get rich.. you have to pay your bills first before you buy any of your wants.. better to pay for the most important expenses before splurging on things that may cause you to have a large debt.. better pay first then save for the ones that you may want for yourself..
@ClarinetGal (81)
• United States
26 Jan 10
I am working on becoming one of those people who pay their bills first, but, I do lapse a lot. Not paying my bills first has gotten me such a low credit score that you would think someone would have to work for it to get that low. It's also caused me a lot of financial issues in other ways. I have vowed to pay my bills first and eek out a living on what remains. I'm doing a so so job at it. My problen is if I need cereal, I want to run to the store and get it. If my coworkers are eating out, I want to be able to eat out also. But, I tend to do that at the risk of not paying some of my bills on time. I think it is better to pack a lunch, make do on what you have at the house, skip a night out now and then, and have the peace of mind that you are going to have a roof over your head and a car to get to work.