Today is one of the scariest days of the month for me (a single lady on her own). I pay my bills. Even though they are not all due on exactly the same day, I try to take care of them all at once because anxiety so besets me.

Some might wonder about this, but perhaps their income is greater than their outflow each month, unlike my situation. Writing checks for apartment rent, car insurance, utilities, credit card, and cell phone services, I'm watching my meager savings float out the window, with no returns. Restricting the process to a day or two permits me to forget about expenses for the rest of the month until - bill paying day arrives again! I start getting anxious two or three days before I sit down and face the costs of my existence.

Bills no longer look like they did when I first started taking care of my own expenses in the 1970s. They were pretty simple. We are charging you 12 dollars and fifteen cents for August electricity usage. It is due by September 7. Thank you for your recent payment of $13.01 received on August 2.

Half a page of paper and a return envelope. Not so scary because it was easy to understand (and because I had a job with income, and, eventually, a spouse and family).

Bills now are subdivided into many categories, some with labels that might as well be ancient Greek. Many are unclear about the dates of the service period. The due dates sometimes are shifted. The addresses where the payments are received and processed can be different than the location of the company whose services you are receiving. It's just more complicated.

We have options now that permit us to avoid this monthly confrontation. Automated payments permit companies to have access to your bank account. The amount owed is paid on the date due without any fuss, as long as you have funds in your account. However, I have a computer that is squirrelly and family with some bad experiences with this kind of system. I try to plod more slowly the old-fashioned way, with a stamp and envelope.