Autopaying Bills Can Save You Time and Hassle. Here’s Why I Don’t Do It

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It makes me nervous to put my finances on cruise control. 

For a lot of people, one of the hardest parts of money management is keeping track of all their bills and remembering to pay them on time. If you struggle with this, there’s an easy solution: autopay!

Many entities, like credit card companies, utility providers, and mortgage lenders, are all too happy to help consumers sign up for autopay, so your bills owed to them are deducted from your checking account automatically every month. You can also use autopay to pay yourself, by way of transferring money from your checking to your savings account or to your brokerage or retirement account.

I have access to this convenient system, and I have thus far managed to mostly avoid it. My auto insurer (who also provides my renters insurance policy) and cellphone service provider both required me to sign up for autopay, so I did. And I have my minimally-funded old low-interest savings account set to withdraw a paltry $25 a month from my checking so I can avoid incurring a monthly maintenance fee. Here’s why I don’t autopay anything else.

I used to live paycheck to paycheck

My history with money has colored my feelings about autopay. Until I changed careers in 2021, I lived paycheck to paycheck, and thus the prospect of not knowing exactly when a bill would come out of my checking account made me extremely nervous. If you’ve never known the sinking feeling that comes with accidentally overdrafting your bank account, you’re a lucky person indeed.

Thankfully, I have managed to avoid this for many years, but it was often very close in the past, as I would get paid every other week, pay all the bills due in that two-week span, and be left with maybe $100 or $200 if I was lucky.

I set up an alert on my checking account so I get an email when my balance drops below $100 and also signed up for overdraft protection, so if I overdrafted my account, money would be transferred from my savings to cover it. This comes with a fee if you use it, however, so I was always striving to avoid overdrafts by manually paying my bills. Even though I no longer live paycheck to paycheck, old habits die hard.

I actually enjoy paying bills

My secret shame is a secret no longer: I like paying my bills. I don’t like the spending money aspect of it, but after some rough times in my 20s, I’ve been happy to be on top of my finances ever since (even if I never used to have much money left over after I paid those bills). And unlike a lot of people, I don’t struggle with managing my payments.

I use a wall calendar to track the monthly bills and their due dates (this way, I can see when things are due across the entire month). I “balance my checkbook” by way of a spiral notebook; every time I get paid, I sit down to pay bills and I keep track of my checking account balance in the notebook, and write down when bills get paid, so I can later check my account online and make sure they’ve been taken out.

I also keep track of money I transfer manually into my savings account, both for freelance tax payments and to fund my goal of buying a house. I move this money first, so I never forget about it. I haven’t made a late payment in years, and I get the thrill of clicking the mouse and watching my savings account balance get bigger.

Since I take these steps, I feel pretty confident in my money management skills and don’t see the need for autopay for me personally. Your mileage may vary, though.

Autopay has some great perks

My experiences and quirks notwithstanding, you might really enjoy using autopay for your bills and savings or investments. If you struggle with memory issues, for example, or are neurodivergent, being able to “set and forget” your finances might be a big help. And if you find that come the end of the month, you’ve spent the money you intended to save or put into your retirement account, automating cash transfers to these accounts first thing will help you meet your goals without coming up short.

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