To make matters worse, bills often get mixed in with your junk mail or lost in the shuffle from your mailbox to the kitchen counter top.

Every time you get one in the mail, it's a reminder of the fact that even after you pay, 30 days later another will come. To avoid these pitfalls, find a system of organizing and addressing bills that works for you and then stay on top of what arrives each month.Paying bills can sometimes feel like fighting a never-ending battle. In the case of credit cards or loans, it can even negatively impact your credit scores. Remember: Missing bill payments can lead to late fees and other penalties. Additionally, you decrease the chance of identity theft if someone rifles through your outgoing mail and steals your enclosed check, not to mention you save on postage costs. E-payments are also a great option if youвЂ™re more of a digital person or canвЂ™t stand clutter. If youвЂ™re comfortable making payments online via your computer, smartphone or tablet, sending electronic payments to your utility and credit card companies is much faster than mailing paper checks.

Decide which bills you can pay online.

If you owe less than you budgeted for utilities or other recurring expenses, consider using your spare income to make additional payments on existing debt. This is also an appropriate time to evaluate the amount that you are paying toward loans and other debt. Other expenses such as cable and internet are generally steady from month to month a higher bill might indicate a service change that can be negotiated back down if youвЂ™re aware of it. For utilities such as gas or electric, changes can be seasonal and relative to the amount of energy needed to warm or cool your home. If you notice that a bill is significantly more than what you normally pay - for example, your gas bill for the month is especially high - do your best to track down the source of the increase. Review your bills for the month and take stock of when each needs to be paid, how much you owe and whether these amounts are consistent with what you typically pay. Whether itвЂ™s once a week or monthly, set aside some quiet time to catch up on your financial state.

Evaluate your expenses and your budget.

Arm yourself with information so that youвЂ™re not blindsided down the road.

If youвЂ™re receiving a notice outside of your usual billing cycle, the company could be writing about an important service change or to inquire about a late payment. Open all mail from your utility and credit card companies as soon as they arrive to see what you owe. It may be tempting to ignore electronic invoices, throw away letters from bill collectors, or toss unopened bills into your junk drawer, but pretending your bills havenвЂ™t arrived doesnвЂ™t make them go away. Open all your bills as soon as they arrive.Aim to keep statements and related documentation for three years from the date paid to ensure that you can reference them if needed. If youвЂ™ve opted for all online payments, create a folder within your email to store alerts and digital receipts. If you decide to organize your bills digitally, scan the physical copies and store the files on your computerвЂ™s hard drive or upload them to a cloud storage platform. Then keep that folder in the same place as your other important financial documents. If you receive both, print out digital statements and place them with the physical ones in a folder.

Whether you choose to receive electronic or physical statements, the important thing is to keep all of your bills in one place for easy access. If you struggle with keeping track of your bills, these methods may help: When youвЂ™re dealing with an influx of utility bills, credit card statements and other debts each month, it can be difficult to organize your finances and ensure you meet all of your payment deadlines.

How to organize your bills online