Pros & Cons of Electronic Bill Paying

[caption id="attachment_2266" align="alignleft" width="327" caption="Easy Paying Bills Online Really That Convenient?"][/caption]

With technology becoming more of a factor in our everyday routine, it's no surprise that we can pay our bills from our smartphone or online. I know for me this is very convenient because instead of sending a check in the mail, or waiting in line for the bank to deposit a check, I can easily do all of these things in my home on my smartphone. But is the convenience of paying bills online really that convenient? Erin Peterson of the Yahoo Finance discusses the pros and cons of incorporating paying bills online.

Service providers are happy to give you the "convenience" of automated payments — primarily because it lets them reach into your wallet each and every month. But although autopay can be a valuable financial tool for some bills and expenses, for other types of payments, you may be setting yourself up for all-too-frequent fee hikes, surprise costs, and payments for services you never even use.

Those unexpected costs can hit you with a double whammy, says Jean Ann Fox, director of consumer protection for the Consumer Federation of America. In addition to the extra costs themselves, surprise fee hikes can bleed your account balance dry, she says — and "if you run low in your checking account, you can easily overdraw your account and rack up $35 overdraft fees."

Here are five fees to drop from your automated payment list today.

Mobile Phone Bills
Perhaps the only thing more exasperating than getting your usual sky-high smartphone bill is getting a bill that's even higher than you expect after you've exceeded your plan's texting, phone, or data limits. "If you've got kids, you've got to be paying particular attention to your bills. Oftentimes, they'll download 'free' ringtones that have monthly subscription fees buried in the terms and conditions," says Kathy Kristof, MoneyWatch columnist and author of Investing 101. "If you've automated that expense, you might not notice the charges for months.

Read more at Yahoo Finance