RTM - the perfect bill organizer
andrewcilento says:
Like many other people, I have far too many different bills to pay each month. Keeping track of them all used to be a real hassle, but thanks to Remember the Milk, things are much easier. Here's what I do:
1. For each bill, I set up a new task named after the bill in question and the day of the month it's generally due (for example, my AT&T bill is usually due on the 5th of every month, though occasionally it'll be on the 8th).
2. I set it up to repeat monthly.
3. If it's a bill that has a fixed monthly minimum payment (student loans, car payments, etc.) I add that information in a note, along with the URL to log into the site if online billing is available.
4. Set as priority level 2. I use priority solely so that when I look at my list of tasks in Gmail (using the Firefox extension), which is where I see them most often, I can immediately tell what bills, if any, are due soon. I use priority level 2 because I like the color, but any other level would work just as well for this purpose.
5. Tag as "bill." I saved a search for "tag:bill" so that they're all grouped together.
And that's my setup. When I get my statements every month, I open them up, check the due date and minimum payment and adjust each task accordingly, and then file the statements away so they don't clutter up my desk.
I know this is a really basic setup, but it works for me, and I thought I'd share it in case it's useful for anyone else. Enjoy!
1. For each bill, I set up a new task named after the bill in question and the day of the month it's generally due (for example, my AT&T bill is usually due on the 5th of every month, though occasionally it'll be on the 8th).
2. I set it up to repeat monthly.
3. If it's a bill that has a fixed monthly minimum payment (student loans, car payments, etc.) I add that information in a note, along with the URL to log into the site if online billing is available.
4. Set as priority level 2. I use priority solely so that when I look at my list of tasks in Gmail (using the Firefox extension), which is where I see them most often, I can immediately tell what bills, if any, are due soon. I use priority level 2 because I like the color, but any other level would work just as well for this purpose.
5. Tag as "bill." I saved a search for "tag:bill" so that they're all grouped together.
And that's my setup. When I get my statements every month, I open them up, check the due date and minimum payment and adjust each task accordingly, and then file the statements away so they don't clutter up my desk.
I know this is a really basic setup, but it works for me, and I thought I'd share it in case it's useful for anyone else. Enjoy!
leah.shalom 
says:
says:Good idea. I already do this with my to pay bills, but I haven't yet with the bills that automatically pay out of my account. Your idea has led me to add the automatic pays (tag:bill-check_withdraw) to my tasks list. Thanks for the generative idea.
areels says:
i also use it for all my payments, it would be cool being able to see total amount of payments. it's really poor but there is no alternative to this yet. http://www.rememberthemilk.com/home/areels/3108270/
emily (Remember The Milk) says:
Hey andrewcilento, just wanted to let you know that you're this week's Tips & Tricks Tuesday winner. We've upgraded your RTM account to have a free year of Pro. :)
andrewcilento says:
A gift from the heavens!
brunovalente says:
I'd like to suggest Emily and the RTM Team to add a field (like notes) to each task with a number associeted. So you can put the value of bills, so you can do a sum of this bills, etc.
weirdguy says:
If the numeric value is more than 24, the time estimate field rejected it. Am I correct?
(closed account) says:
I like this idea for manual payments. Why would you use it for automatic ones? Just to make sure that you budgeted the money for it?
bynbutterfly says:
Why not put the amount in the task name? It is easier way to see and add the number.
(closed account) says:
I have a recurring bill task each month for each bill. An example:
"AMEX due by 10th $00" with a due date of the first of the month.
When I get my AMEX bill, I open this task, backspace twice to remove the 00, type in the bill amount and save. Once I pay the bill, I put back the 00 and complete the task. Done in seconds.
"AMEX due by 10th $00" with a due date of the first of the month.
When I get my AMEX bill, I open this task, backspace twice to remove the 00, type in the bill amount and save. Once I pay the bill, I put back the 00 and complete the task. Done in seconds.
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