Do you forget to pay your bills?

This funny commercial for a bank in Thailand shows you the unexpected consequences of not paying your bills on time. Click here to watch and have a few laughs:

In reality, there can be some very frightening results from not paying your bills. You may see your credit score damaged or be charged expensive late payment fees. In the worst cases, you could have your account sent to a collections agency. Collection records can harm your credit significantly for up to 7 years.

Here are a few tips for paying bills each month:

• Open, review and pay bills as soon as they arrive in the mail. Stashing the bills can lead to forgetting all about them. Keep a checkbook and a supply of stamps ready where you usually read your mail.
• Check in on your accounts online - Services like Yodlee allow you to instantly view all your accounts online. I use this dashboard to review and pay all my accounts each week instead of waiting for statements to arrive.
• Sign up for an automatic bill payment service. This can be an easy way to keep track of all your bills each month. Just remember to login and check that everything is processed correctly.
• Change your billing dates - Most credit card issuers will change your billing date when requested. You may want to arrange your credit cards so that the bills all arrive on the same day or so that the dates match up with your payday schedule.
• Keep a cushion in your checking account - Try to always leave a balance of a few hundred dollars in your checking account as "emergency money." This, and overdraft protection just in case, can help you avoid bouncing any checks.
• Contact your creditor immediately if you do miss a payment - If you discover that you forgot a bill, immediately call the creditor or business to explain the situation. This will hopefully stop them from pursuing serious actions. And in many cases, they will waive the late fee and give you a few extra days to send in the funds.

What are your tricks for staying on top of your bills? Share your tips in the comments section below.