Paying bills while away

We put most of our bills on autopay. I changed my Target credit card to a debit card.

I can pay all my credit cards on-line. Other bills are on autopay, and some I can pay directly from my bank's website.

If you don't use autopay or can't pay online using the creditors website or app while on the road (most hotels have wifi that you can access on your phone if you don't have data service overseas) mail the check before you go, post dated. My phone and electric bills are on autopay and I just get an email message and text alert when it's paid.

I have almost all our bills on autopay. I do have to think about our estimated tax payments, which I must mail in early (or pay online.) I also pay bills for a relative, and while I have most of her bills on autopay, at least two of her utilities can not be set up for that, so I will be checking her bank account to make sure it can handle this, then pay early for May and June. It's a bit of a "yikes," but I'll make sure the bills are covered.

I also have to calculate an educated guess on what our credit card bills will be while we're gone. I have our accounts set up to pay off the balance every month, but since we'll be traveling, I'll have to keep an eye on how much we are likely to put on our cards, and have enough in our checking account to cover likely expenses.

It's not difficult, but it does require some forethought.

Post dated checks can be cashed before the date on the check.

Like most here, we have every bill possible set up for auto pay. Or we may prepay them early. Outstanding balances on credit cards are paid before we leave. If we will be gone longer than the next billing cycle, we will often estimate our charges and put that much as a surplus on the account. While I dont like to do online banking from an unsecure site like a hotel's wifi, we have used data to pay off credit cards when we're away for extended periods.

I also put all of my bills on autopay. And that includes my estimated tax payments.

If I do have to pay someone unexpectedly, I now use Zelle.

I haven't written a check in years.

I do have to make sure my checking account has enough money in it to cover the automatic payments.

If you're concerned about using a hotel's wifi to pay bills, use a VPN. It encrypts everything outgoing.

And that includes my estimated tax payments.

Clearly no state income tax is involved.

If you don't use autopay, you can still log into your CC accounts and schedule the date you want to make a payment. (You do have to have your bank info there)

I’m able to schedule a full year of state estimated tax payments in advance online for automatic payment on the due dates. Perhaps it depends on the state.

toby, in Oklahoma, we do have estimated state income tax payments, as well as federal.

And Frank II, I will look into having the estimated payments on autopay; I didn’t know that was an option. Thank you!

Mine are all on autopay- it's all digital now. Credit card bill just pops up on my bank app, and I can just click a button to pay.

hey hey epltd
i have all my bills on autopay with no issues, best thing i have done. i get a message on my cell phone that bill paid.
hopefully you can schedule all this with your debit card to bill pay. no one will have access to my account. hope all works out for you and all be paid for and taken taken of. ask you bank
aloha

You develop a system that works for you. I am not a big fan of auto pay since it can be very difficult to change or cancel. For us the only thing on auto pay is the mortgage and HOA dues (all three HOAs). We have reduced our credit/debit cards to four issuers all due on the 17th of the month and close on the 20th. Via the internet each month those credit cards will be scheduled for payment the Friday prior to the 17th. Big hits like quarterly taxes and property taxes are prepared in advance, placed in envelopes with mailing instructions for local son to mail at appropriate time. I know, I know, that is a weak link but so far failure rate is zero. All most all of our venders use a two-step authorization so it is fairly safe to access these accounts on the road just to make sure everything is functioning properly with min effort on our part. So far it has worked well for us.

PS. -- Forgot to add, our two sons have fully access to all of our financial accounts and codes. We had a really bad access experience about 20 years ago when older son arrived in Madrid for a study abroad program and his university credit union froze his accounts. Initially the cu would not talk to us because we (parents) were not on the account. We were desperate because he needed access to pay bills. Finally after much pleading the CU's president caved in with the statement, "I could go to jail for doing this." Since then we have made sure that everyone's account have a secondary access.