5 Bills to Always Pay Ahead of Time

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Paying your bills in advance could help you keep more money in the bank. Find out which bills you may want to pay in advance to qualify for a discount. [[{“value”:”

No one enjoys paying bills, but we all must do it. You may even want to consider paying some of your bills before the due date. Paying your bills ahead of time can ensure they’re paid on time and in full, but that’s not the only advantage.

Many companies offer a discount to customers who pay their entire bill immediately. Prompt bill payment could result in significant savings. Here are a few bills you may want to pay ahead of time to keep more money in your pocket.

1. Insurance

Your insurance provider may extend a discount if you pay your policy every six months or annually instead of yearly. I save over $160 yearly on auto insurance premiums by paying my bill every six months. While my car insurance company doesn’t offer annual billing, many do.

Check to see if you can save money on your auto, renters, homeowners, or other insurance premium costs by paying your entire bill in advance.

2. Cable, internet, and mobile phone bills

If you have cable, home internet, or mobile phone service, your service provider may extend a discount if you enable autopay. While this technically does not pay your bill ahead of time, it gives the company permission to charge your payment method on file on the due date.

Many companies do this to ensure they get paid promptly. It’s common for companies to extend a discount to customers who enroll in autopay. It’s not unusual to get a discount of $5 or $10 each month for each of these services. By being enrolled in autopay, I’m saving $10 monthly on my home internet bill — a savings of $120 every year.

Just check whether you must use a specific payment method to get the discount. Some billers now require auto payment to be set up using a checking account instead of a credit card. You may not qualify for a discount if you don’t use their preferred payment method.

3. Streaming services

While not all streaming service providers extend a discount to those who pay for their service upfront, some do. Hulu offers discounts to ad-supported plan customers who pay their bills yearly. This saves customers nearly $16. Unfortunately, this discount isn’t available to Hulu customers with ad-free plans.

It’s worthwhile to research whether your streaming services providers extend such discounts. There’s no reason to overpay if you can afford to pay your subscription cost annually.

4. Home security monitoring services

If you have a doorbell camera or other security cameras on your property, you likely pay a subscription fee to save your recordings or for other security services. It’s common for these companies to offer a discount to subscribers who pay their service bills yearly.

I have a Ring Doorbell camera and pay $49.99 annually instead of $4.99 monthly for my device. While doing this won’t make me rich, it frees up nearly $10 for other expenses.

5. Memberships and subscriptions

Another way to save money on bills is to pay your memberships and subscriptions annually instead of every month. One example is Amazon Prime. You’ll pay $14.99 per month to be a Prime member, or you can pay $139 annually. You’ll save over $40 with this money move.

Another example is your gym membership. You may save money with yearly billing. Review your memberships and subscriptions to see if you can save money with this strategy.

Look for ways to trim your spending

As everyday expenses become more costly, getting creative when looking for ways to trim your spending is beneficial. Enabling autopay or paying your bills annually instead of monthly are two ways to save money on bills.

Another option is to see if you can downgrade some of your services or plans. Every dollar you save adds up and benefits your wallet.

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The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Natasha Gabrielle has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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