Do you know you should pay bills online, but just can’t bring yourself to make the switch?

I’m not making fun of any of these reasons (well, not much). But I do want to encourage you to get over them. Here’s why, courtesy of ecoPayz, our sponsors for this post.

THE GREEN BENEFITS OF PAYING BILLS ONLINE

√ Better for the Planet – Paying your bills online requires zero paper, zero ink, and you won’t use any energy posting a bill that needs to be physically delivered. PayItGreen calculates that in just one year, by switching from paper to electronic billing, statements, and payments, the average American household would:

Save 6 pounds of paper

Save 23 pounds of wood

Prevent the production of 29 pounds of greenhouse gases.

That’s like not driving 30 miles, or burning 2 gallons of gasoline, or planting one ree seedling and letting it grow for 25 years.

 √ Efficiency – Paying bills online takes less time than putting a bill stub in an envelope, writing a check, addressing and stamping the envelope, and mailing it.

√ Less Clutter – This is a big one for me. I hate it when paper piles up all over the place. Every bill comes in an envelope, with a paper bill, probably a few promotional fliers, and a mailing envelope. Paying bills online helps keep paper clutter to a minimum.

√ Safety – Despite the stories of identity theft, it’s much easier to steal a paper check in an envelope than an electronic bill payment.

√ Community – I’m not saying you’ll make more friends if you pay your bills online. But won’t you feel better knowing that you’re part of a community of green-minded consumers who are doing the right thing?

Many banks make it easy to set up direct online payment transactions. Credit card companies often offer bonuses for signing up, like air miles or some period of delayed interest payment play.

Alternatively, you can use an electronic wallet system like ecoPayz. In this approach, you can fund your ewallet from your bank account, then use ecoPayz on your computer or phone to shop online or send money or receive funds from around the world in any of 45 currencies.

You can use it for online shopping as well as bill paying. If you’ve had a tough time establishing credit, no worries: unlike a bank account, you do not need to go through a credit check to open this account.

The next time a company asks you to set up online bill paying, give it a try. You have nothing to lose – if you don’t like it, you can always go back to paper bills. But once you get the hang of it, you’ll probably wonder what took you so long.

The post Which of These 5 Silly Reasons is Keeping You From Paying Your Bills Online? appeared first on Big Green Purse.