I was asked the other day “Should I set my mortgage payments to automatically withdrawal?” Being one who has every possible bill set up to be paid automatically, I thought this was a gimmie. However, it did make me think of the questions you should ask yourself and think about when deciding whether or not to go automatic. It’s your biggest bill, so it’s not an easy decision. So let us take a look -

• Can they? Does your mortgage company allow for automatic payments? This is question number one, although I can’t imagine many not having this option.
• Can you? Do you have the money? If you are living paycheck to paycheck, this isn’t the best option for you. There is a high amount of risk that you’ll bounce a payment which would be an extremely bad idea.
• Lick the stamp. Are you the type of person who needs a physical interaction with your money? If you feel attached to the motions of paying, keep stroking your check.
• What was I just talking about? Are you forgetful? Do you find yourself constantly calling customer service and saying the check is in the mail? This is the option for you.

If you answered “yes” to the above questions, then automatic payments may be a good option for you. The actual process of setting up automatic mortgage payments is fairly simple. I had to fill out a form with my banking information, give the mortgage company permission to take the withdrawal, and that’s about it. There is usually about a month gap for when the payments begin.

If you have a balanced checkbook and want to reduce the stress of remembering when to pay a bill or just want to save the cost of a stamp, automatic payments are a great option.