Browsing Category

Advice Column

Advice Column Household

Ask Ms. Deborah – 5 Ways to Paying Bills on Time.

April 4, 2017

Dear Ms. Deborah,

I am in my 30s and make enough to live comfortably but there is one thing that I am not very good at, paying my bills on time. My wife and I get into huge arguments because it can and will affect our credit rating down the road when we want to buy a house. Can you provide me with some tips?

Sincerely,

Procrastinating Husband

Dear Procrastinating Husband,  

Bill paying is very important because it does increase your credit score and enables you to get better interest rates on future loans. So how can you start paying bills on time?  It starts with both you and your wife working as a team and creating that habit together.

My suggestions that may help you stay on top of your bills are as follows:

  1. Organize your bills. You can create a filing system that has 12 monthly folders and 31 numbered folders to help you organize the bills by the month and day they are due. For example, when you get your mail and it notes that the bill is due next month, May 15th, place it in the monthly folder marked May. At the end of April, I would suggest pulling the May monthly folder and taking all the bills due and now organizing them in the number folders on when the bill is due. Knowing that the bill is due on May 15th, I would place that bill to be paid by the 10th to ensure it arrives on time.
  2. Schedule a bill paying time. It is important to schedule a designated time as a couple to go over finances and pay bills. This ensures everyone is on the same page and can bring up any upcoming expenses or budget for something in the future like a home or dream vacation.
  3. Schedule automatic payments. This is a great way to ensure that those credit card bills and mortgage payments are paid on time. The only downfall is that you always must have enough in your account to cover those bills.
  4. Pay the bill when it comes in. Once the bill comes in, go directly to their mobile app or your banking website to schedule that payment or if you prefer mail, write that check and mail it off.
  5. Set up bill reminders via email or text. A lot of credit card companies and banks offers services to ensure their clients are successful in paying their bills on time. Enroll in those reminders and possibly save the planet by opting for paperless bill service.

Paying bills on time reduces stress and a happy wife is a happy life! I hope this helps. Thanks for stopping by.

0 Comments
Advice Column

Welcome to Ask Ms. Deborah

March 23, 2017

Hey Ya’ll….. I am so excited to welcome you to this part of my blog. I am offering up some Southern advice for those easy or hard questions that you have been pondering for quite some time. Mind you, I might not know all the answers but I am willing to share my Southern state of grace and charm that has helped me through many of my life’s experiences and challenges.

For instance, here’s my top ten basic manners or common courtesies that are a must in the South.

  1. Be Humble. There is no need to be walking into any home, office or building with your nose in the air blocking anyone’s light. Being uppity or selfish will get you no where fast.
  2. Say Please and Thank you.  If you are requesting anything, please be mindful of the way that you ask for such request by saying “please” and always being grateful by saying “thank you”.
  3. Be Modest. There is no reason for any of us to see your party bits, nooks and grannies or whatever you want to call them.  Please keep your body contained in the appropriate garments and be mindful of the event that you are attending.
  4. Keep your word. If you make a promise, you better keep it. You always want your reputation to proceed you in a good way and not in a bad way, so keep those promises.
  5. Mind Your Business.  Trust me, a small Southern town has been known to hear quite a bit with regards to their neighbors.  However, if it ain’t your circus or your monkeys or if you have not been ask to help, please respect their privacy.
  6. Say Ma’am or Sir. In the South, our parents and grandparents beat us with a switch of our choice on how to appropriately address adults and seniors. Mind you and out of habit, that phase has rolled off our lips to our peers or young adults.  If someone says Yes or No Ma’am/Sir to you, it means they were brought up with manners and have respect for you. It is not to be taken as an insult, so please do not take it that way.
  7. Be Courteous and Kind. Being courteous and kind should come easy, but with the hustle and bustle of the world today, it has been lost. Please go out of your way to helpful. Hold a door for someone, smile and say hello to a stranger are just a few things that can be done to make your day and someone else’s as well.
  8. Behave! If you don’t want someone to pierce your soul and place you in a jar way back in a shed, then do not under any circumstances make a fool of yourself in someone’s home or in a public setting.
  9. Don’t touch the TV Remote!  You might think this is silly that I am even discussing this scenario but it has happen. If the TV is off, don’t turn it on. If the TV is on a particular channel, don’t change it and don’t ask to change it. P.S. This little advice is for all those husbands that so desperately want to change the channel to watch sports because their wives have drove them to a party and are missing the game.
  10. Chivalry. I truly believe that most women (I say most) want to be treated like a lady. In the South, its a must for a gentleman to hold the door, pull out a chair or stand for their ladies when they are entering or leaving a room. That is such an honor and I will take that all day long.

If you have any ideas for me to blog about or again, any questions, please feel free to email me at askmsdeborah@outlook.com.  I look forward to hearing from ya’ll! Until next time, don’t bang the screen door or let the flies in on your way out.

 

0 Comments