Use online bill payment and avoid those late payment fees

If you pay 11 bills a month, that's more than $4 each month. So, not just lower bills, but easier to pay as well. More than that, you'll save the time and hassle of all the paper, and it's good for the environment. The easiest way to get online bill pay is through your bank. But, you'll want to check out their terms first. Many banks only offer bill payment for free in certain situations. It might be a good time to shop around...

If online bill pay through your bank isn't an option, you can still pay online. MyCheckFree.com is a free service that consolidates many of your bills, including cable, credit cards, electric, insurance, and more. They provide a web-based interface where you can then pay them via withdrawal from your account, or a major credit card. The only downside to their service is that only a limited number of bills are supported. PayTrust.com is not free, but can be setup to pay any bill, even those that are only available in paper form. The cost is $12.95 per month for their top package. Similarly, Quicken's quickenbillpay.com isn't free, but provides broad support for almost any bill. $9.95 per month. There's a great comparison of these three services over at The Wall Street Journal.