{"id":1735,"date":"2018-03-09T12:00:58","date_gmt":"2018-03-09T18:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kerryaclark.com\/?p=1735"},"modified":"2018-06-15T06:43:28","modified_gmt":"2018-06-15T11:43:28","slug":"introduction-to-pay-ahead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kerryaclark.com\/blog\/introduction-to-pay-ahead\/","title":{"rendered":"Introduction to Pay Ahead"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Way Bills Were Meant to Be Paid – Part 1<\/span><\/h2>\n

As you know Pamela and I are constantly improving our processes. \u00a0We call it the business of running our home or my life. We found that our money and resources was, as with most, the hardest to get under control. \u00a0It\u2019s even harder to improve. We began to study and define what we meant by our money, our resources and our finances. The first problem area was with paying our bills. \u00a0The bills are never ending and yet we would find ourselves frustrated with them, and many times overwhelmed by them. This is an indicator that improvement is necessary. We had to make an agreement to think of this area with out-of-the-box-type thinking. \u00a0Most people stop trying to find a solution to the problem, thinking there is nothing they can do about it, but we challenge this thought. Here are two categories we found that define how bills are paid.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Category 1: Before service is rendered. \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Did you know that for some of your bills (financial obligations) you\u2019re making a payment before the service is rendered? \u00a0One example is your cable bill. What this means is you make a payment before you ever use the service. The service provided gets paid upfront.<\/span><\/p>\n

Category 2: After service is rendered. <\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Most billing occurs after services are rendered. \u00a0This statement should grab your attention. For example, your power bill, water bill, gas bill, mobile phone and more, all send you a statement after the service has been rendered.<\/span><\/p>\n

With these categories, Pamela and I learned a valuable lesson. \u00a0Category 2 (after service is rendered) is like taking out a loan for the service provider each month. \u00a0It was a problem since one of our main financial goals was\/is to rid ourselves of debt. This monthly process showed us how each month we were indebted to our most \u201ccommon\u201d service providers. \u00a0Here\u2019s what that did for us:<\/span><\/p>\n