[refurb]

That only works well if you're diligent about reviewing them. If the power company suddenly thinks you owe them for a new $2000 power meter, it's good to know that before the money comes out of your account (or onto your credit card).

I'm not that diligent so burden of manually making sure bills are paid is a great way to force me to check that the bill makes sense!

[kurttheviking]

Just came here to say this actually happened to me. About 10 years ago I lived in a high-rise apartment in Chicago. One day we got a bill in the mail for ~$50,000 -- turns out, I got billed for the entire building. It took weeks to sort that out.

[odysseus]

3 weeks prior to the automatic payment, the power company sends me a notice of the exact amount that's going to be taken out. I review it every month.

[refurb]

You are far more diligent than me! If I know the bill is getting paid, I have a tendency to put it off.

[a_imho]

I do the same and wait until all the bills arrive at the beginning of each month to do them in one batch and do not like the cognitive overhead. Now wondering whether it would be possible to set up semi-automated payments. You get a notification about your bill and if you click/tap through it gets paid. Still in control but less manual steps. Maybe there are services for this use case already?