I've got shacks which have mortgages that will be finished in 17 months. I still get paper statements sent to me (as I also do with my brick and mortar banks).

My thinking is don't change....let this system expire into the sunset.

Right or wrong? Would I save time going paperless?

I constantly look for ways to save time. I'm a big fan of Instagram and Splitwise, Venmo etc etc etc.

(I'm also an avid reader here).

I do not use a smart phone for cell service. I use a tablet or older smart phones with wifi at the shacks.

17 months is a long time if we are wasting time.

Also, are there any other shortcuts you all have? I've tuned up my leases again....I'm doing this at least twice a year now.

Never did buy a receipt machine....need to see one work to see if it would help me.

Just an old habit.

I did go off of autopay. Had not one but three bad experiences where the vendor kept taking payments after I had tried to cancel the service.

I actually never would of guessed in a million years that banks would make such mistakes but alas, they did.

Thanks

I'd take it off auto pay the last 3 or 4 months. you can go into your account manually and pay from your checking account.

I like control.

I don't feel like I have control when I give someone else permission to withdraw directly from my account.

How many times have you heard someone (*cough*tenants*cough*) say, "They took two car payments out this month, instead of just the one, and I couldn't get the second charge reversed!" or "They took their payment early, and it threw off the rest of my payment schedule!" or whatever variation you like.

I used to give DH health insurance through my old employer. When I traded it in to be a SAHM, we went to being self-insured. Later, when DH changed jobs, he finally got a job that had decent health coverage for him, but was too expensive to put the whole family on. All BCBSTX had to do was take him off our family plan, and leave the rest alone-- I was very clear, customer service was very clear about understanding, it should have been very simple-- but somehow, they ended up canceling the whole plan. I realized this when the paper bill didn't show up as usual, so I called. So they reinstated the plan, sent two periods' worth of bills to ensure uninterrupted coverage, and then sent me several snarky form letters suggesting I enroll in autopay so that I didn't get two periods behind. Um, excuse me. You couldn't even remove on person from our plan--- why should I expect you to handle my bank account access correctly? :)

Thank you,

From what I read above it seems that auto pay often has problems. I think the problems happen when the lender makes changes. I agree, all my issues, save one, were lenders switching.

I have 17 months then the statements end. So the statements will stay as they are. I won't be using auto pay anytime in the foreseeable future. My banks have not performed well with autopay.

I do use on line bill pay so and have for as long as I can remember it being available.

My original concern was that I was going to just wait 17 months. I wanted you all to spot if that was a mistake. 17 months is also a long time if I'm doing myself a disservice.

In another post I mentioned that I was clearing out shacks. How I had built up a surplus of furniture I lend out. If I waited 17 months to clear out the surplus - I would be making a mistake. The time to do that was now and I acted on it.

With your help, I'm checking that this train is moving along as it should. Thanks,

I am half-paperless. I prefer to get paper bills and statements in the mail. Once I have paid/reconciled them I scan them and eliminate the paper. I have 0 paper from the last 3 years. When time allows I scan in old stuff and throw that away.

I get paper statements b/c it keeps my postal friends employed. Also, only after receiving my BOA statement did I notice I didn't make my August payments on my shack. I am still trying to figure out how that happened. I have been paying these mortgages for 14 years and never have been late before. Go figure! Guess who's going to the bank on my lunch break?

Funny, I hate BB&T I like the people but combined the bank is hideous.

But in today's day and age banks that treat people poorly excel. BB&T is in Florida when I'm there, and all the way up into Pennsylvania where I hang out.

But yet, they can't keep the grass cut at their branches, nor the awning in place at my closest branch.

(Just in case you haven't gone in yet...you can call mortgage companies and have them sweep your bank account. They credit to you on the day you call and the sweep takes plays a few days later. This is not automatic, you don't risk signing up for any service or losing control).

Smok,

Congrats on examining your biz and asking questions!

17 more statements? Meh. That's almost tomorrow.

I'm not shy of computers/online but I do fear changes in a service that is humming along nicely. The change itself often CREATES new problems.

I'm in this for FREEDOM!!! and glitches by some clerk in a basement who forgot to _____ (whatever) that takes 5 phones calls to correct interrupts my FREEDOM!!!.

If i worked for the previous 226 payments I'd just ride out the last "handful".

We have a few online billing/statement situations (we do not PAY online) and it seems Wifey is often calling or trying to find passwords to print out statements to find THEIR errors. Some only give the last 30 days, our main bank will only do it from a phone call so evenings and weekends are out, one requires we change our password every 90 days...Sure it reduces THEIR costs but seems to ADD to OUR costs.

Paperless office: we do lots of things digitally. But I realized we were taking time away from critical tasks and paying someone to scan bills, etc costing me more money than putting it in a box and throwing it away after 3 years.

Add the cost of scanners, computer hiccups/breakdowns, extra cloud storage fees...

I also notice the more digital we are the paper and printer ink I have to buy!

Back when I had a JOB selling school supplies copy paper was a big chunk of our sales. As computers came on the scene we feared a drop in paper sales. But we actually sold MORE paper!

BRAD