Longklaw.com

I get way too many bills/statements in the mail each month.
• Car insurance
• Cell phone
• Car loan
• Credit card X3
• Internet
• Satellite
• Bank statement
• Electric bill
• Gas bill

I probably forgot something. There’s been a big push lately by companies for customers to only use electronic statements. It saves the company money and it’s good for the environment. I’ve been resistant to this because I like having a physical copy of each bill. Yes, you can view your statements online, but their archives usually go back only a few months. I have years worth of statements at home.

There’s another reason I like to have physical copies. When I get a bill in the mail, I tear off the stub you’re supposed to use to mail in a payment as a reminder. I keep all the stubs on my computer desk, arranged by due date. Since I moved last July, I hardly ever use that desk anymore. Because of that, I’ve completely forgotten about a couple of bills recently.

I may go with all electronic statements. I’ll have to find another way to remember due dates that will send me a reminder when bills are due. There’s no real reason for me to keep getting paper statements since I don’t use them for anything once I tear that stub off. I can always keep electronic archives of my statements if I want to. Electronic statements will save space and save the time I spend filing away all those letters each month. Also, a lot of companies give you a one-time $5 credit for making the change. Money saved is money you can spend on something else. 🙂