There isn’t a person alive who embraces bills with open arms. Far from it; the need to manage, maintain, and save for bills is the bane of existence for most of us.

For those who aren’t great with money, however, bills go from being an inconvenience to a much-dreaded date on the calendar. 

Monthly bills, especially, get many of us in a tizzy because no sooner have they passed than they’re coming round again. This turnover is so speedy, in fact, that it can leave us dizzy and almost entirely unable to get a grip on things. 

Unfortunately, the vast majority of bills in life do roll on a monthly basis, with everything from Netflix subscriptions through to mortgage payments and even auto insurance keeping us on the payment carousel. But, that needn’t be cause for worry, especially not if you break things down in the following ways. 

Consider whether lump-sum payments would work better

In some cases (credit cards, loans, etc,) lump-sum payments are the only option to keep escalating interest at bay. But, for most other things (insurance, television licence, etc,) you can choose to pay monthly or annually without accruing the much-dreaded L-word. And, if you aren’t blessed with a saving mindset, the latter might actually be best. 

After all, if you know that you have a renewal or payment date coming up, you can save for it once and forget about it until next year. By comparison, monthly payments are ongoing, meaning that you’ll need to save that money at least twelve times a year. 

Admittedly, some things, like electricity/gas, tend to be cheaper on monthly tariffs and, in that instance, month-by-month payments are no-brainers. But, if you’re set to pay the same amount regardless, you may do better taking that one-time option and at least lessening the monthly load a little. 

Always arrange for same-day collections

Often when we slip up, we slip up because we lose track of what goes out when. Such is the curse of the mishmashed monthly payment calendar.

By instead taking the time to arrange all your bill payments for say, the 2nd of the month (avoid the 1st in case of pay setbacks,) you can get it all over with in one fell swoop, straight after payday to ensure the money’s there when it needs to be.

Most companies are more than happy to switch dates around in this way so, if payments feel like a mess right now, make some phone calls and straighten things out once and for all. 

Categorise essential and non-essential payments

Lastly, it’s always worth categorising monthly bills into essential and non-essential groups to get the best possible idea of where your money’s going and why. What’s more, the ability to see at a glance which monthly payments you can scrap and which need to remain on the calendar mean that, even if things get hairy, you can make easy savings to save the day. 

As simple as that, you can make your monthlies more bearable on your brain and your bank account.