3 Bills Boomers Prioritize Paying on Time — and 4 They Admit Paying Late
Written by
Gabrielle Olya
Edited by
Molly Sullivan
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Most boomers aren’t stressing about being able to pay all of their bills in a timely manner. According to a recent Bread Financial report, when asked how confident they were that they would be able to pay all of their bills for the following month on time, 57% of boomers said they are very confident and an additional 32% said they were fairly confident.
However, there are certain bills boomers will prioritize paying over others. Here’s a look at the bills boomers always pay on time — and the ones they admit to lagging behind on sometimes.
Bills Boomers Never Miss
The Bread Financial survey asked Americans which bills they prioritize to make sure they get paid on time. Among boomers, the three bills they always prioritize are utilities (68%), rent or mortgage (55%) and credit cards (50%).
While, ideally, boomers will pay all of their bills on time, it’s important to know how to prioritize bills if you’re coming up short one month.
“If you have to choose, always prioritize bills related to things that keep you safe and allow you to function in the world, like shelter, healthcare and transportation,” said Trae Bodge, personal finance expert and founder of True Trae. “Then, focus on higher-interest bills.”
You should also prioritize bills that impact your credit score.
“Mortgages, credit card bills and student loans are among the most important to pay on time because these can negatively impact your credit score when paid late,” said Andrea Woroch, a budgeting expert.
Based on this logic, boomers might not need to prioritize paying utility bills as much as they do.
“While you should pay all bills on time, most utility companies and service providers don’t report late payments to credit reporting agencies,” Woroch said.
Bills Boomers Pay Late
Less than half of boomers said they prioritized paying the following bills on time: insurance (43%), medical bills (20%), car payments (17%), subscriptions and streaming services (7%), and student loans (1%).
“Some bills you can get away with being a little late, like insurance and utilities, but if you are too late you end up accruing penalties or experiencing a service disruption,” Bodge said.
Tips for Paying Bills on Time
Americans of all ages should make an effort to pay all bills on time to avoid late fees, service disruptions and dings to their credit scores — but it isn’t always easy to actually make this happen. Here are a few expert-approved tips to help you get your bill paying habits on track:
- Put bills on autopay. “Then, to ensure you have the funds available, set calendar alerts several days ahead of time in case you need to transfer money from one account to the other,” Bodge said.
- Consolidate bills where possible. “Something else to consider is having fewer bills to pay,” Bodge said. “If you have five-plus credit cards, think about keeping two to three in your wallet and that’s it. That way, you have fewer bills to juggle.”
- Always pay at least the minimum amount. If you can’t pay all of your bills in full, make sure you are at least making minimum payments in a timely manner. “Set up autopay even if it’s just for the minimum amount,” Woroch said. “You can always pay extra to a credit card bill or make an extra principal payment to your mortgage loan at a later time.”
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