Bill management – How to triage, negotiate and save.

A guide to money management and bill triaging.

Whether it's your utility bills, subscriptions, or credit card statements, a strategic approach to managing your bills could save you money and reduce financial stress.

If it’s been a while since you reviewed all your bills, here is an approach to triaging them that could help you get them under control and save some money.

Gather all your bills.

Go through your bank transactions from the last year and compile all your bills. Try to collect a paper or digital copy of the bills and store them somewhere convenient.

You can also use the Beyond Bank+ App to categorise your spending and track your budget.

Make a list.

Using a spreadsheet or paper, make a list of all your bills. Include the following details:

• Supplier (the name of the organisation that is billing you)
• Billing cycle (how frequently you get the bill – weekly, fortnightly, monthly, quarterly, annually are the most likely options)
• The date you were last billed
• The next billing date
• The amount you were billed.

Triage your bills.

Add another column to your list of bills. We’ll use this column for triaging. Triaging just means assigning the bill to one of three categories.:

1. Keep, meaning you plan to continue to purchase and pay for the service with no changes. This is where your essential, non-negotiable bills will go, like your rent, mortgage, insurance premiums or credit card repayments. Don’t be too quick to put things in here. Consider and question whether each item is really a non-negotiable.
2. Negotiate, meaning you’d like to continue using the service, but you will contact the supplier and see if you can get a better deal or change the way you use the service to reduce its cost. This might include pay TV subscriptions, internet services, mobile phone plans and even gas and electricity plans.
3. Cancel, meaning you no longer plan to use the service, and you’ll do what you need to do to cancel it. This category might include unused or duplicate subscription services.

Calculate what you’ll save.

Use your list and the actions you assigned to each bill to estimate how much you think you’ll save over the next 12 months if implemented correctly. If you’re uncertain about how much you’ll be able to save by negotiating with a supplier, make a realistic estimate for now and update the spreadsheet when you can confirm the new cost.

Finally, add a due date.

Now you can see the size of the prize, add another column to your list of bills. We’ll use this column to record a due date for any action you plan to undertake for each bill. Adding a due date for the action makes it more likely you’ll follow through.

By mastering bill management, you'll gain control over your finances and make informed decisions. Remember that Beyond Bank is here to support you. If you have questions or need help, reach out to our friendly team.

Happy bill triaging! 

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