Community Chat

[gidgetgh]

Bear with me, this will get lengthy, LOL. Feel free to pass it on by. 

There’s something to be said for paying bills the old fashioned way. You know, think back. Bill comes in the mail.  You write a check and mail the check. 

I know that probably most people don’t get paper bills anymore and pay bills online instead.  My husband and I are an old fashioned family. My husband has health issues and doesn’t use a computer.....at all. We still get bills in the mail and pay them by check. Every so often I’ll “go wild” and pay our Discover bill on the phone.  For us, that’s life in the fast lane, LOL. 

Anyway, on to the point of this post. Some of you have seen me note that we’ve been going through some serious family illnesses. 

Out of the blue, my husband’s nephew (my age) and his wife became medically incapacitated on the same day. One we expected. The second was unexpected so no plans had been made before hand on how to keep their household running for an extended period of time. 

They have no children. My husband is the next of kin of his nephew though we don’t have POA or anything. 

We've had to step in to help while they both recover. Neither is back home yet. We’ve paid bills for them. A family friend who lives close to them gets the mail. I get it from her once a week. I open all mail (which is a really freaky feeling to be honest) and then do what needs to be done with the mail. Fortunately, they also still get their bills in the mail. So, I’ve been able to pay all of them. 

If they did their bill paying online, we’d be lost. 

Just something to give thought to. I was just reading a thread in Among Friends about having an emergency book and that led me to start this thread. 

I’m all for technology. I’m just about surgically attached to my iPad and phone. But sometimes it’s ok to do things the old fashioned way also. 

[missy1]

I like paper bills.

[Gorgf]

I guess I hesitate as afraid of getting hacked and have enough personal information out there. Then I have had password issues if does not match e-mails  so gave up. Someday postage rates might sway me to change if it becomes too costly. I really only have one credit card and utilities.

[missy1]

If you pay bills online, it's a PITA to change them all when you get a new bank card.

I know some of you have a service where all bills are on the same page. (for paying)

[Ms tyrion2]

I get paper bills, but pay them all on line.

Same day credit for the payment and no worries about mail delays.

[AuntG]

We pay with checks and put them in the mail. Our phone, cable and internet are one bill. Heat and electric are another. That only leaves a charge card and and an infrequent sewage bill.

[Mary Bailey]

Even though I pay bills online, we still get them in the mail.

If something  happens to me DH wouldn't know how to pay them online. I tell him where the password book is but I know he wouldn't do it that way.   And what if we got rid of the internet (LOL!) or the internet went down? 

Not wrong going the "old fashioned" way.

[deepwaterdotter]

We also get our bills through the mail.  Pay some online to get the reward points on our credit card, pay others with a check.

[ShowMe]

@gidgetgh.....  Don't feel alone.....I too am "old fashioned".  Pay all my bills by check.  Although, I have had all my papers in order for quite some time now.  Do have a POA, and she is on my checking account with me.   Have duplicate checks....even though I could get the others free.  

It sounds to me like your family members need to get an attorney to draw up some papers for them ASAP.  No matter how many next of kin there are....it is who is on that dotted line for the POA.  

They are so fortunate that you do what you do.  

[Laura14]

I went online after the post office lost my credit card payment and cost me the first and only finance charge and interest charges of my life. There is good and bad with both.