Making Cents: Staying Way Ahead of the Bill Collector

Hate paying bills? Consider doing it less often, by paying small to medium-size bills in large chunks in advance. As long as you have some short-term savings sitting around anyway, the interest earnings you lose by paying, say, six months’ worth of a gas bill at once may not be much more than the cost of five extra stamps. And even losing a few dollars in interest by paying ahead might be worth the convenience.