Background: In 1997 I was told by a coworker that I was foolish to pay my yearly Property Tax all at once (as was my usual practice, knowing that I most likely would have problems with the 2nd half payment). I was told that I would be better off earning interest on that amount for those months. Well, you might be able to guess what happened. Logically, the 2nd half payment would be due 6 months after the 1st half. Wrong: it was due 5 months later. So any interest earned was wiped out by the late payment penalty. A few months later I decided that I had to come up with something to make keeping tracks of bills a sure thing. Here is my System:

Tools: The key to the System is a calendar , with 1 month per page. It works best with a spiral-bound wall calendar, which seems to flip to the desired month the most easily (and which you probably will not want to actually hang on a wall, for privacy reasons). It doesn't really matter what size it is (my favorite size is about 8x11 inches), but you do want to make sure that there is not much clutter in the pages. You will also need a pen and a highlighter of any color you prefer (I like yellow). I also use a black marker, but this is optional. Also useful (but theoretically optional) are 12 manila folders with each folder marked with a month. I also use a plastic holder (with 2 pockets, in which I keep the calendar and bills temporarily) that sticks magnetically to a file cabinet (in which I keep the folders).

The System: When a bill arrives, I sometimes put it in the holder on the file cabinet for a day or 2, when I have more time to deal with it. After I open it I write the date due on the lower right corner of the envelope, then I look at the amount due. Here is part of the key : write the payee and the amount in the calendar at the date it is due. And then highlight it (just to make it more eye-catching), for example: . And then I place the envelope in the appropriate manila folder, but this is not crucial to the success of the System. You just need to be able to locate the actual billbased on the calendar entry. (However, having a folder for each month's bills can serve as somewhat of a back-up for the calendar: if a folder is not empty at the end of the month you may have missed something.) The rest of the key requires that you keep the calendar turned to the page for the current month and that you look at it frequently (ideally every day). You will be able to see at a glance what is due, and exactly when. After the bill is paid, you can cross off the entry (a bold stroke with a black marker is satisfying): . You will be able to quickly determine if you are up-to-date on your bills. And, almost as important, at the end of the month you will have the satisfaction of turning the page on a month that you have paid every bill that is due.

The beauty of the System is that you can receive a bill months in advance and still be able to keep track of it. You can also use the calendar for other things that are due (yearly memberships, rebate deadlines, etc.), but be careful not to create too much clutter. The basic idea is to have a calendar that is dedicated to bill paying, so that you can see with only a brief glance what is due and when.

The key to the System is that you must use it. I guarantee that if you get into the habit of entering your bills and then looking at the calendar every day or so, you will never miss a bill payment again.