The New Rule: Field Goal Bill Paying

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The New Rule: Field Goal Bill Paying

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Personal Finance 101: Generation X Series – Three Simple Steps To Managing Your 401K

November 04, 2011

Nobody likes paying bills. Not longer than a few years ago, most people met the end of the month with the dreaded feeling of writing out checks and licking the back of envelopes-UGH!. Over the past five years, many people in the United States have transitioned their bills from the check stuffing days to now merely having to fill in an amount and simply point and click. With some providers sending you an e-bill alert now, you may not even have to remember when to pay the bill.

I've learned over the past couple of years that the next generation of bill payers (your Generation X and Generation Y crowd) uses something that I like to call the Field Goal Rule when it comes to deciding whether or not to click the 'pay now' button. Here's how the rule works. When a particular bill comes such as cable television, cell phone, or local water bill comes, a bill payer has a number in their head on where they think the particular bill should be that month. If it is a recurring bill, they start to get that number stuck in their head as the center between the left field goal post and the right field goal post. For example, if your cable/internet bill is typically $119 per month, if the bill is somewhere between $110 and $130, you will pay the bill without questioning whether anything is wrong with the bill.

If you think about it, this is probably one of the unintended consequences of on line banking. While most of it was designed to speed and convenience to save you time, it could potentially cost you money by you avoiding actually reading your bills to make sure what was charged to you was actually accurate. I think what you may see from marketing companies over time within the billing departments is to run regression analyses to figure out how much they can actually raise a bill without it even falling on your radar. This means that your regular bill may only go up by $8 per month, for example, so it won't really faze you at all to make a change or review the bill. What we actually experience today is that most of the monthly billing companies will make small raises in their normal bill every year to increase their revenue, but they don't make it large enough to make you want to change providers.

Since we are in the 4th quarter and hopefully you are on the way to the end zone this year with your financial plan, here's a great tip to score you three extra points. The best way to kick a field goal financially is to review your bills at least once a year and make sure you are paying for what you are getting and what you really want. By doing this exercise, you are bound to find one service to cancel or one line item on a bill you can cut as you bring your finances in 2012.

Go to www.oxygenfinancial.net to request a consultation with the leading financial experts for Generation X in the country.

Written by:

Ted Jenkin, CFP®, AAMS®, AWMA®, CRPC®, CMFC®, CRPS®

Co-CEO and Founder of oXYGen Financial, Inc

Ted Jenkin is one of the foremost knowledgeable professionals in giving financial advice and Smart Money Moves to the X and Y Generation.

Securities and Investment Advisory Services offered through NFP Advisor Services, LLC (NFPAS), Member FINRA/SIPC. Oxygen Financial is not affiliated with NFPAS. NFPAS does not provide tax or legal advice. This site is published for residents of the United States only. Registered Representatives and Investment Advisor Representatives of NFP Advisor Services, LLC (NFPAS) may only conduct business with residents of the states and jurisdictions in which they are properly registered. Therefore, a response to a request for information may be delayed. Not all products and services referenced on this site are available in every state and through every representative or advisor listed. For additional information, please contact NFPAS Compliance Department at 512-697-6000. PLEASE NOTE: The information being provided is strictly as a courtesy. When you link to any of the web sites provided here, you are leaving this web site. NFP Advisor Services, LLC makes no representation as to the completeness or accuracy of information provided at these web sites. Nor is NFP Advisor Services, LLC liable for any direct or indirect technical or system issues or any consequences arising out of your access to or your use of third-party technologies, web sites, information and programs made available through this web site. When you access one of these web sites, you are leaving our web site and assume total responsibility and risk for your use of the web sites you are linking to.

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Personal Finance 101: Generation X Series – A kid’s birthday party for $500 (or more)?

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Securities offered through Kestra Investment Services, LLC (Kestra IS), member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Kestra Advisory Services, LLC (Kestra AS), an affiliate of Kestra IS. oXYGen Financial is not affiliated with Kestra IS or Kestra AS. Kestra IS and Kestra AS do not provide tax or legal advice. https://Bit.ly/KF-Disclosures

This site is published for residents of the United States only. Registered Representatives of Kestra IS and Investment Advisor Representatives of Kestra AS may only conduct business with residents of the states and jurisdictions in which they are properly registered. Therefore, a response to a request for information may be delayed. Not all products and services referenced on this site are available in every state and through every representative or advisor listed. For additional information, please contact Kestra IS Compliance Department at 844-553-7872.

PLEASE NOTE: The information being provided is strictly as a courtesy. When you link to any of the web sites provided here, you are leaving this web site. Kestra IS and Kestra AS makes no representation as to the completeness or accuracy of information provided at these web sites. Nor is Kestra IS and Kestra AS liable for any direct or indirect technical or system issues or any consequences arising out of your access to or your use of third-party technologies, web sites, information and programs made available through this web site. When you access one of these web sites, you are leaving our web site and assume total responsibility and risk for your use of the web sites you are linking to.