Are you a paper bill hold-out?
Do you know you should pay bills online, but just can’t bring yourself to make the switch?
5) Lazy – You just haven’t gotten around to it.
4) Worrywart – You don’t trust the system, and worry that the money you want to transfer to your billing accounts won’t actually get there.
3) Lonely – You get very little mail anymore and enjoy getting anything – even bills — in your mailbox.
2) Paranoid – You think some evil force might snoop on you or rob your account if you pay your bills online.
1) Disorganized – You have so much email already, you’re worried that you’ll miss your bills if they are delivered electronically rather than physically.
I’m not making fun of any of these reasons (well, not much). But I do want to encourage you to get over them. Here’s why, courtesy of ecoPayz, our sponsors for this post.
THE GREEN BENEFITS OF PAYING BILLS ONLINE
√ Better for the Planet – Paying your bills online requires zero paper, zero ink, and you won’t use any energy posting a bill that needs to be physically delivered. PayItGreen calculates that in just one year, by switching from paper to electronic billing, statements, and payments, the average American household would:
Save 6 pounds of paper
Save 23 pounds of wood
Prevent the production of 29 pounds of greenhouse gases.
That’s like not driving 30 miles, or burning 2 gallons of gasoline, or planting one ree seedling and letting it grow for 25 years.
√ Efficiency – Paying bills online takes less time than putting a bill stub in an envelope, writing a check, addressing and stamping the envelope, and mailing it.
√ Less Clutter – This is a big one for me. I hate it when paper piles up all over the place. Every bill comes in an envelope, with a paper bill, probably a few promotional fliers, and a mailing envelope. Paying bills online helps keep paper clutter to a minimum.
√ Safety – Despite the stories of identity theft, it’s much easier to steal a paper check in an envelope than an electronic bill payment.
√ Community – I’m not saying you’ll make more friends if you pay your bills online. But won’t you feel better knowing that you’re part of a community of green-minded consumers who are doing the right thing?
Many banks make it easy to set up direct online payment transactions. Credit card companies often offer bonuses for signing up, like air miles or some period of delayed interest payment play.
Alternatively, you can use an electronic wallet system like ecoPayz. In this approach, you can fund your ewallet from your bank account, then use ecoPayz on your computer or phone to shop online or send money or receive funds from around the world in any of 45 currencies.
You can use it for online shopping as well as bill paying. If you’ve had a tough time establishing credit, no worries: unlike a bank account, you do not need to go through a credit check to open this account.
The next time a company asks you to set up online bill paying, give it a try. You have nothing to lose – if you don’t like it, you can always go back to paper bills. But once you get the hang of it, you’ll probably wonder what took you so long.
2 thoughts on “Which of These 5 Silly Reasons is Keeping You From Paying Your Bills Online?”
Thank you for the amazing tips! My wife and I recently turned over to online billing and to anyone reading – don’t hesitate! I can wholeheartedly confirm all the things that Diane pointed out above to be true! As a rubbish removal company owner I find it essential for everyone to do this – it doesn’t take much effort and there’s only benefits to it!
Thank you for the great post, Diane!
Cheers!
Thanks, Sean. I bet you do see a lot of paper that shouldn’t be thrown away. Online billing is smart, eco-friendly, and sometimes will even save you a little bit of money if the company you’re working with provides incentives to pay bills online.
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