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There are many tasks that we need to doeachmonth. Bill paying is a very important task. In this What to Keep in Your Bill Paying Station post,I have compiled a list of various itemsyou will need for your bill-paying area. Let's start with where you can create this bill-paying station.
Jump to:
- Where should I do my bills?
- Include a Stapler and staples.
- Add something to do calculations with.
- Add an area for trash.
- Include Pens and a holder to write any notes.
- Pre-printed checks or handwritten checks – to pay your bills.
- A computer or tablet.
- Envelopes, Stamps, and Return Address labels.
- Paid Stamps if you are paying bills for your business.
- An Inbox just for bills.
- A filing cabinet or large enough bin to store a year's worth of documents.
- What to Keep in Your Bill Paying Station Printable
Where should I do my bills?
A bill-paying area can be any home area, which is private or easy to hide things when you have company. This area could be an extra bedroom, a command station in the kitchen, a home office, or a den. If you do not have an area like these and need to use your living room or dining room table, having an ottoman (Affiliate Link) filing bin works nicely to hide the bill essentials when the company comes over. You can even repurpose an existing ottoman (Affiliate Link) into a bill-paying area with accordion folders.
Now that you determined where your bill-paying area will be, below is a list of the Bill Paying Zone Essentials you will need. Most of them are necessary. But, some may not be for your situation.
Include a Stapler and staples.
Stapler – to help with stapling bills together or staple check stubs to invoices if you have a small business.
Add something to do calculations with.
Calculator – to use to confirm amounts on the bill or generate your balances in your paper register. You may not need this if you plan on doing all your tasks on Quicken or an online money management account. You can also use your phone for this as well.
Add an area for trash.
You need to have a paper recycling bin (Affiliate Link), trash can, and Shredder (Affiliate Link). for quick throw-away of unnecessary items. Pick the right size for your bill area. Just be sure you pick a shredder (Affiliate Link) that has a cross-cut feature.
Include Pens and a holder to write any notes.
Sticky notes (Affiliate Link) work well for quick notes for each bill. A repurposed soup can like this one below we made on the site works nicely to hold the pens.
Pre-printed checks or handwritten checks – to pay your bills.
If you use paper checks, you will need a place for these too. For security purposes, keep your extra checks in another secure place for access when you need them.
A computer or tablet.
If you use Quicken or other online budget apps, you will need a computer (Affiliate Link) or tablet to use the app. Several of the most popular apps have apps that can be used on a tablet.
Envelopes, Stamps, and Return Address labels.
If you have a few bills that need mailing every month, quarterly, or yearly, you will need to have a section to hold envelopes, stamps, and return address labels (Affiliate Link). You can easily make address labels (Affiliate Link) with your computer (Affiliate Link).
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Be sure to buy privacy envelopes. They are envelopes with meshed patterns inside. You can sometimes see the account number from checks if they are not security-tinted envelopes.
Stamps can be bought at your nearby grocery store if you can't make it to the post office.
Paid Stamps if you are paying bills for your business.
If you have a small business, you may want a paid stamp. A paid stamp with a date to stamp on paid invoices from vendors if you do not have check stubs. If you have check stubs, staple the stub to your invoice.
An Inbox just for bills.
When bills come in, they need a home before paying. Assign this Inbox or "Bill to Pay" folder to an area that is near the front door or where you will be able to visit to place the mail every single day. Having this item in your home office works great. If you do not have a home office, you can place it in a covered wicker bin like the one below. Unpaid bills should only be in this place. Everyone should know what the bin is for. Having the bin covered will reduce visual clutter in a hall or kitchen and keep your papers/bills private from visitors. Feel free to check out these paper organizers for desks on Amazon (affiliate).
A filing cabinet or large enough bin to store a year's worth of documents.
This filing cabinet (Affiliate Link) or bin will be used to hold your paid bills and invoices if you have a business. It should be placed where you plan on doing the bills. Below are some additional tips.
- Hanging folders work great for general topics like utilities, mortgages, credit cards, etc…
- The manila folders are great for the specific name of the particular bill company.
- At the end of the year, you can remove the manila folder and replace them with a new set for the current year.
- If you do not have a lot of bills and do not own a business, you can have monthly manilla folders for your bills, and as you revisit each month, you can revisit and discard the old paper bills from the prior year.
Feel free to check out the home office filing cabinets I found on Amazon(affiliate) for whatever size bill-paying area you have.
What to Keep in Your Bill Paying Station Printable
If you do your bills online, be sure to create a list of all log-in and password information and store it in a safe (Affiliate Link) place. You can keep the "confirmation"page fromyour e-payments or write down the confirmation number on the bill or on your computer (Affiliate Link) for each vendor you pay.
Also, you do not need to keep your important documents in this area. For more information about important documents, please visit this post.
I hope these instructions help you get your bill-paying station organized. Hopefully, this will help you stay on top of your bills easily and quickly.
Now it is your turn; please share what you include in your bill paying station in the comments below. I would love to hear from you.
Feel free to check out these other bill-paying posts I found online.
How to Organize Your Bill-Paying Process by The Balance
Household “Bill Payment Center” by A Bowl Full of Lemons
Organize To Pay Your Bills On Time by Best Results Organizing
Visit our What to Keep Series to help you organize different areas of your home.
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Please note these are affiliate links through Amazon, and at no additional cost to you, I will earn affiliate fees if you decide to make a purchase.
Visit our other money management posts!
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