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Adjusting your bill due dates can help you stay on top of your bills and manage your cash flow

If you feel like you’re juggling your bill due dates every month, you’re not alone. Bill payment due dates often don’t align with each other or with your paychecks. This can mean you have many dates and payments to track and manage. But there might be a way to make handling your bills easier. Our worksheet  can help you evaluate your bill schedule and see whether changing the dates your bills are due could help you better manage your day-to-day finances.

Bureau research shows that many consumers reported difficulties in the area of paying bills. We asked consumers about their bill payment habits and found that many people struggle to pay their bills on time. People also shared that one reason they fell behind on bills was that their bill due dates and income streams were not aligned.

Did you know you can sometimes get due dates for your bills changed? Many people told us that they didn’t know it was possible to change their bill payment due dates. But some billers are willing to change due dates on request.

Missed or late payments are expensive and can make a tight money situation even tighter. Bureau research highlighted that tools for managing bill payment could help to empower consumers to take control of their finances.

You can use the "Request a change in your bill due date " worksheet to:

  • Map out your bill due dates alongside the dates money comes in
  • Decide if you should try changing bill due date(s)
  • Take steps to request a change in one or more bill due date(s)

This worksheet was developed because of the consumer perspectives captured in our report, Consumer insights on paying bills.

The Bureau also has other tools to help with your day-to-day money management, including:

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