Pay Bills Online - Save Money and Time!

How many checks do you write and mail each year?  If you're reading this post you must have Internet access and thus you could be paying your bills online. 

If you are like me and have monthly mortgage, electricity, gas, credit cards, cable, phone, cell phone, auto insurance, trash, water/sewer, etc. bills, the traditional approach of writing checks can be labor intensive. 

To mail the 250+ checks per year I could be writing it would cost over $100 in postage and HOURS and HOURS of time manually writing, ripping, inserting, addressing, licking, sealing and delivering bills.  Not to mention that nasty envelope paste I'd be scraping off my tongue!

First take a look at automating any recurring payments you can be charging directly to your credit card.  This is your best option as long as you don't carry a balance on your credit cards. 

Some bills cannot be charged to a credit card or are charged fees for that convenience.  So pay them online with a billpay account!

Bank of America has an easy to use free of charge billpay service that allows you to pay anyone completely online (assuming you have the $$ in your account of course).  You can pay any bill online and B of A will mail the check for you for free.  Try it out!  Mail a check to yourself!

B of A allows for recurring payments to be made (like your mortgage bill), automatic debits (like your gym), online billings (like your credit cards and electricity) as well as any other payments as long as you have a mailing address.

One note of financial caution.  B of A pays a microscopic .05% on a checking account.  So don't keep too much excess cash there.  Plenty of highly liquid money market accounts currently pay over 4.5% (PayPal is one) that you can use to transfer money to your billpay account as needed.  (OUCH!  Here we are 5 months later and my PayPal money market is down to 2.6%!  Time to look elsewhere for better returns...!)

There are plenty of other online billpay providers out there, so check it out and start saving time and money!  It may feel awkward at first but before you know it you'll LOVE how much time (and stamps) it saves you!

Power Napping Is In (Almost!)

Try taking a nap for a powerful antidote to feeling sluggish and tired.  I personally feel extremely invigorated with a solid 20 minute, uninterrupted nap in the middle of the day (right after lunch is usually a good time, following the lead of my 2 year-old).

You don't want to nap too long, just 20 to 30 minutes...sleep too long and you'll feel groggy instead of refreshed.  Or take a long nap of 90 to 120 minutes to get past the grogginess cycle.

Napping is still not widely accepted in our society but is gaining momentum.  One company, MetroNaps of New York, sells a napping device called an EnergyPod™ that provides a comfortable semi-enclosed space for napping in comfort in a work setting.  Companies like Proctor & Gamble, Cisco and PriceWaterhouseCoopers are experimenting with this device. 

Since most companies don't have this $12,000 contraption, what is the best strategy for napping during the workweek? Well, if you work close to home you could go home for a nap.  But this isn't feasible for most of us.  If you work in an office you could shut the office door at lunchtime and snooze on the floor of your office.  I have resorted to this but it certainly is not the most comfortable approach (remember to lock your door and silence the phone).

Or you could nap in your car, which also is not that comfortable unless you have a car large enough to lie down in.  I have resorted to catching a front seat powernap in a shady spot at the park.  Of course the other issue is noise.  This is where I've been lucky to find a really neat product called Pzizz.

Pzizz is a $50 software program that produces an unlimited number of timed sleep "soundtracks" - music, sounds and voices that make power napping a snap.  I've used Pzizz hundreds of times and swear by it.  Nap soundtracks can be exported into iTunes and loaded onto your iPod for easy portability.  I crave my 20 minute Pzizz "energizer" naps.  My wife makes fun of me but I'm telling you, after just 20 minutes of Pzizz I'm a new man.

Bottom line:  Most of us don't get enough sleep and our bodies and minds are paying the price for it.  If you can't sleep more at night, then consider taking regular naps to help bring energy to your life!

Stop Unwanted Catalogs and Junk Mail

Check out a relatively new service from Catalog Choice that helps you reduce the number of catalogs mailed to your home.  I dread visits to the mailbox this time of year as I know 80% of the materials will be catalogs that I neither want nor need.  This free service allows you to select catalogs from a list of 1,000 or so and ask that they not be mailed to you.  Can't beat this deal!  www.CatalogChoice.org

GreenDimes.com is another website that helps you reduce unwanted mailbox clutter.  In fact, my wife signed up a few months ago.  It costs $15 (one time).  I've noticed a remarkable reduction in catalogs and junk mail over the past few weeks!  It takes 3-4 months to kick in.  www.GreenDimes.com. 

41Pounds.org charges $41 for 5 years of ridding your mailbox of not only catalogs, but all sorts of junk mail, like coupon mailers, magazine offers, credit card offers, etc.  If you want a more complete approach to gaining control over your mailbox, this may be your best choice.  They say 80 to 95% of your bulk mail will be eliminated within 4 months.  That could make this service your #1 choice even though there is a cost to it.   41 is roughly the number of pounds each of us receives each year in bulk mail (I think this is more like 411 pounds in my family).  www.41Pounds.org

You Don't Have To Be a Football Fan

...to enjoy this amazing play.  This past weekend, in a Division III game, Trinity University came from behind in the final play of the game to beat Millsaps College, 28 to 24.  This miraculous play included 15 lateral passes, something never before seen.  There were 2 seconds left on the clock and Trinity was on its own 32 yard line.  I timed the play and it lasted over a minute!  Equally entertaining is the dramatic reaction of the announcers. 

Thousand Oaks City Watch List

NOTE: Effective July 2013, the Thousand Oaks Police Department has transitioned from City Watch to use www.Nixle.com for dissemination of local crime updates.

Join the City of Thousand Oaks Police Department in fighting crime in our community by joining City Watch.  City Watch was launched recently to enlist community in detecting and deterring crime. 

By signing up you will receive emails that provide details of any criminal activities in the neighborhood along with details about the alleged criminals.

City Watchers will also receive quarterly statistics about crime in the area, crime prevention tips, and other updates.

To request to be a Member of City Watch Email your name, address and phone number to tocity.watch@ventura.org or call (805) 371-8362. Visit www.toaks.org/government/depts/police/city_watch.asp for more information.

On a related note of crime, want to catch a bank robber?  Visit www.labankrobbers.org for surveillance photos of bank robbers thoughout Los Angeles, Ventura and other nearby counties.