It’s not just gas prices that are climbing up these days… the cost of first class stamps looks to be going up yet again to $0.46. You may be thinking big whop-de-do. You’d be right. It is a big deal.
Bottom line, the average bill payer will now spend $60 a year if they insist on continuing to use snail mail. Take that same $60 a year starting at age 22 and invest it in a balanced mix of stocks and bonds that generate an average return of 7% a year… and you are looking at a first class trip by the time you are in your golden years. Literally. Sock away that $60 a year for 60 years and you’re sitting on nearly $50,000.
My point — if you are not utilizing online banking yet let this potential postal hike inspire you to go online to save time (and money!). This nifty calculator from eBillPlace.com can help you figure out just how much you can save.
And — the good things about using online bill payment through your bank or credit union don’t stop with saving a little dough. Here are my top three reasons why this postal hike should make you consider going on a postal strike:
1. Online banking is convenient; it makes your financial life easier. When you use your primary financial institution as command central for receiving and paying your bills, you only have to remember one password and log on one time. You can see exactly how much money you have in your account as you pay each bill from that one control panel. When you utilize online banking, you can receive and pay ALL of your household bills online – not just to large companies, but to small firms, and even individual people. (And I really do mean all. Thanks to a new offering by Fiserv called ZashPay that many financial institutions are starting to offer, you can literally send person-to-person payments online by just using the recipients’ email address or phone number, how cool is that?).
2. Online banking gives you control. According to a Fiserv survey, a whopping 64% of consumers have lost a paper bill in their home and another 57% have experienced a paper bill being lost in the mail. If you utilize online bill pay through your bank or credit union, you can have “e-bills” sent electronically right to your financial institution. They contain the exact same information as paper bills, but are stored conveniently online. On top of this, when you utilize online banking through your financial institution you determine exactly when each bill will get paid — which is not the case, for instance, when you have bills auto-debited. You can even change the amount and due date if you need to, or cancel payments.
3. Online banking gives you safety. Last but not least, whenever I talk about online anything — one of the first concerns that rightfully pops up is … safety. This may be the best part of all when it comes to online banking. When you use online bankingit’s like banking with Kevlar on. For instance, (a) When you pay all your bills through your online bank account you are reaping the benefits of all the money those financial institutions have spent on encryption and fraud detection tools, (b) You don’t have to share your account number the way you might have to do if you pay on a company’s website, and (c) Virtually all of the big banks, and many credit unions and community banks, have robust alert options that will notify you via text or email of activity in your account. And best of all, most institutions offer an online guarantee that protects you from fraudulent activity and late fees if you schedule the payment properly.
Bottom line, utilizing online banking through your primary bank or credit union ensures you always know what’s going on — and it gives you convenience, control, and safety to boot. If there’s a silver lining to the impending hike in the price of stamps, let it be that you give paying your bills or sending money to other people online a second look.
Read more: Cash Management, Budgeting, Debt Management, Saving, Managing Money, Personal Finance, Online Banking, Money Management, Business News
