paying ahead on my monthly bills

[dustyroad]

well, i am 4 months away from my cruise so now is the time i start paying extra on my monthly bills--phone, dish, gas/electric and others. this way i do not have a balance i owe when i get home and am pretty much broke from all the fun of shopping and doing things on the trip.

 

it sure helps me have a better time on the cruise knowing i will not be crunched for money to pay my bills when i get home. and i can start saving sooner for my next cruise in 2006. the caribbean then. a new area and adventure for me. any tips on the best ship for a balcony cabin/7 days leaving from florida in may? the prices for may 2006 arnt out yet. thanks.

[rabelgirls]

What a great idea. I never thought of doing that. We usually do Disney every year but have decided to cruise this year and forgo Disney. I will have to remember this tidbit and to it as well so we won't be worried about the money!!

 

:D

[dustyroad]

rabelgirls

 

 

 

it sure helps me. i also have a great landlord and he lets me pay a certain amount ahead each month starting now so i can have a month to get caught up and breath a little easier when i get home. i will do all it takes to make '' the money crunch'' from having fun on the cruise easier.

 

have a great time on your cruise.

[Deb in Cali]

I tried this trick when we went on a cross country trip in 2001. It worked for everything but my cell phone. They changed providers while I was gone. The prepayment never got transferred over and they were sending me to collections while they were sending me a refund. It was a huge mess. I tried at least 3 times to get them to transfer the money to the proper account to no avail. I was assured each time that it was taken care of.

 

After a 2 month battle, I finally pulled the plug on them and went over to a different cell company. I won't go back to that company if they were the last cell phone company on earth.

 

Deb

[SueSea]

It's one thing to pay your mortgage or your credit card (assuming you carry a balance) early because you are decreasing the amount of interest you will pay. It's an entirely different thing to pay a utility bill or any service you have not yet used. I think a better solution is to open a separate savings account and deposit the money there instead. Here are my reasons, the last two of which are the most important to me:

 

Loss of interest (a minimal amount, to be sure)

Time value of money--because of inflation, a dollar is worth more today than it will be tomorrow (again, a minimal amount)

You are giving an interest-free loan to companies who would most likely charge you a fee if you paid late

If you change service providers, or if they make such a change, it may be time consuming to get your money back

If you really don't trust yourself to leave the money in the bank, give a trusted relative your ATM card (but not your pin;) ). You can make deposits in the night drop box without your ATM card. Pick a bank that charges when you use a teller to discourage you from going in and taking your money out.