Paying the bills. Not a very fun task… unless you color code and decorate when bills are due in your planner!

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There are a couple of different ways to organize bill paying:

1. Money in, money out, reminders / tasks e.g. transfer money so you have enough in your account ready to pay the bill when it falls due
2. Each type of bill – phone, internet, water
3. Spending type – Bills, mortgage, discretionary spending
4. Person responsible – e.g. if you keep track of your partner’s expenses, shared expenses, costs that need to be split among yourself and your roommates

How to color code bill paying in your planner

There are a couple of ways to color code when bills are due:

1. Color code using highlighters

This is the Plum Paper Planner. Read/ watch my haul here

Pros of color coding using highlighters

• Cheap (I haven’t found much difference between expensive and cheap highlighters – I use a combination of both)
• Quick
• Highlighters are readily available online and in retail stores
• Highlighter stands out out the page – makes very easy to find what you’re looking for

Cons of color coding using highlighters

• If you highlight in the wrong color it takes more whiteout to erase, although you can get erasable highlighters (I shared my favorites in this post)

 

• Don’t come in as many colors as pens – highlighters usually come in yellow, green, pink, purple, orange and blue. Pens tend to come in colors like mint and red. While you can get highlighters in these colors (such as Midliners) they can get quite expensive

 

• Takes up more space than other color coding methods such as planner stickers

My favorite highlighters for color coding are Smiggle (super bright color!) and the Frixion erasable.

Related: Smiggle Stationery Haul (worth the cost?) 

Alternatives to traditional highlighters are highlighter pencils, erasable highlighters, wax highlighters and zooms (twistable crayons).

2. Color code using pens

Pens offer the biggest range of colors to choose from so if you want to color code bills and other things on the same monthly / weekly spread, pens are the best option

Related posts: Ultimate list of the best planner pen brands and how to choose colors for color coding

Pros of color coding using pen

• Plenty of colors to choose from (the most of any color coding planner supply)
• Cheap
• Plenty of brands and styles to choose from e.g. fine tip, needle tip, medium tip, marker tip etc.
• Have to re-write the bills on every weekly / monthly spread which can be time consuming
• If you have big hand-writing it’ll take up a fair bit of space on the page

Cons of color coding using pens

• If you make a mistake you’ll need to use whiteout although you can get frixion erasable pens
• Takes up more space than other color coding methods such as planner stickers
• The colors don’t stand out as much as highlighters or planner stickers – especially if you’re using pen to plan everything else for the week

My favorite pens for color coding are the Paper Mate Inkjoy Gel & the Frixion erasable pens.

3. Color code using planner stickers

There’s a reason planner stickers are so popular! It’s much quicker to just peel and stick than re-writing all the bills that are due each and every month. Since planner stickers come in endless different colors with all different icons you can find the exact icon to suit the bill e.g. phones, houses, cars etc. They’re great for breaking up text-heavy planner spreads and stand out so you won’t forget to pay the bills.

1.5 x 0.5″ (also know as quarter box size as approximately 4 will fit the vertical Erin Condren Life Planner) are ideal if you prefer to write the amount on the sticker itself, rather than just using an icon sticker to remind you.

Icon stickers are ideal for bills that have the same value each month (such as the phone bill).

Related: How to use functional icon planner stickers

Related: How to make your own custom Erin Condren (or any planner) header title section planner stickers (step by step video tutorial)   

Pros of color coding using planner stickers

• Cheap
• Plenty of styles and colors to choose from (or make your own for endless color, size and icon possibilities!)
• Quick to DIY your own
• Quick to peel and stick
• Save a lot of space
• Save time when planning

Cons of color coding using planner stickers

• Planner stickers tend to be quite cheap but there are some Etsy shop that charge high prices so be sure to shop around
• Unless you make your own planner stickers you’re probably going to be overwhelmed by all the different colors and styles. If you want to use the exact same stickers you’ll need to be sure you have enough if the shop goes on vacation or closes for a period of time

Tip: To save space, purchase 0.25″ mini icon stickers – more fits on a sticker sheet (so you get more stickers for a cheaper price), you don’t need to buy more stickers as frequently and it takes up less space in your planner.

Download my favorite resources for making planner stickers

4. Sticky notes

Rather than re-writing when bills are due each month, save time by using a sticky note.  Sticky notes are inexpensive, come in plenty of colors to choose from, all different sizes and can be reused again and again.

My favorite are the Post it Note 3M (they’re a bit pricey than other brands but they’re super sticky)

Related: Monthly blog post planning using sticky notes (my 6 step process) 

Pros of color coding using sticky notes

• Cheap
• Reusable
• Quick & easy
• Don’t need to re-write things each month
• Ideal if you’re short on space in your planner
• Come in a variety of sizes

Cons of color coding using sticky notes

• Sticky notes do lose their stickiness over time and your bill pay list may fall out

 

• If you want to use a different color for each bill category e.g. your credit card, partner’s credit card, mortgage, car loan etc. post it notes tend to come in 6 colors: pink, purple, blue, green, orange and yellow (less colors to choose from than pens)

My favorite sticky notes for budgeting are the Post it Note 3M 

5. Washi Tape

Washi tape comes in plenty of colors and patterns! If you’re tired of writing the same bills out over and over again, set up a key at the front of your notebook that you can refer to as you plan. Instead of writing just stick a piece of washi tape to signify that bill is due. Washi tape can also be used for recurring appointments etc.

Pros of color coding using washi tape

• Cheap
• Reusable
• Quick & easy
• Don’t need to re-write things each month
• Ideal if you’re short on space in your planner
• Come in a variety of sizes

Cons of color coding using washi tape

• Most pens don’t write well on washi tape – the ink tends to just wipe off

Related: Best pens for writing on washi tape 

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Related Posts:

• 6 Useful ways to efficiently plan your week using highlighters 
• Why I plan my day using planner stickers (and why you should too!) 
• Favorite color coding planner supplies for less than $5
• Best pens for writing on washi tape