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The day you have to pay a bill is not a good day. However, it is still important to your overall financial picture.
Making sure you pay your bills on time not only keeps you from getting stuck in a high-interest debt cycle, but it’s also one of the fastest ways to improve your credit score. This means that you need to have complete knowledge of the financial institutions you use, even which day of the week is best to ensure your payment gets processed.
There may be no joy in spending money, but bills have to be paid. Luckily, you can do this the smart way by checking your calendar and aligning your timeline, so you’re never late or behind. Here are the details on which days of the week you should pay your bills – and which days you might want to avoid.
avoid weekends
Although it may feel like everyone is working for the weekend, you may want to pay your bills before turning in for a relaxing Saturday and Sunday. You may be familiar with the terms “business hours” or “business day”, which means Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm and usually does not include weekends.
This means that if you send a payment on Saturday or Sunday, processing doesn’t happen until the next business day, Monday. Many gas and electricity companies, as well as credit card issuers, stick to the due date and their lower limit.
If your payment is late because your bill was not processed before it was due, you may be charged a late fee. Banks are open for limited hours on Saturdays, and closed on Sundays, putting you at risk of owing more money on your bill than you originally planned.
Try not to pay on Tuesday or even Thursday
Yes, it may seem like you’re racing to pay your bills at the optimal time, but keep in mind the general rule that any day of the week that starts with “T” should not be the day you pay your bills.
Many money experts consider mid-week days like Tuesday or Thursday to be more challenging for people because they aren’t tied to regular routines like payday. There are only so many things you can remember in a day and some people even forget to pay bills these days because they are busy with work or school.
To round up the days to avoid, remember that Friday is also a little tricky. Although they are technically a business day, if you try to make a payment at the end of the day the bank may not process it until Monday, putting you at risk of late fees.
So, what’s the best day to pay your bills?
If you’ve been keeping track so far, you might have noticed that typically the best days of the week to pay your bills are Monday and Wednesday. Start your week with bill payments or wait until the middle of it, with Mondays and Wednesdays being the best times to submit payments.
Getting paid on Monday means the payment gets processed quickly after the weekend, and Wednesday gives you mid-week time to handle the payment without any delays or any other issues. There are seven days a week, but fortunately, two days are set aside to ensure that if you send a payment, it gets processed on time without any additional late fees.
J. Archie contributed reporting to this article.