The best ways to use the latest digital money tools

PAYING BILLS? DON’T WORRY ABOUT STAMP PRICES, DELIVERY DELAYS USE ONLINE PAYMENTS. In mid-July the price of stamps went up for the second time this year. Paper checks — and the cursive

handwriting you use to fill them out — are falling out of favor thanks in part to mail theft and delivery delays. HOW THEY WORK. Utility companies, doctors’ offices and other service

providers you use often offer an option to pay online through their websites. Just log in with your credentials and enter your credit or debit card information. This can be useful for

occasional bills, such as a doctor visit. For recurring bills, such as your mortgage or utilities payments, a potentially easier method is to use the bill-paying service your bank provides

on its website and mobile app. There, you can enter the provider’s info, which is stored for future reference. When you need to pay a bill, enter the amount and hit submit. The money is

drawn from your account and the payment sent. ARE THEY SAFE? If you use the provider’s website, be sure to check the web address before paying a bill online. It should contain a small

padlock icon 🔒 next to the site name, and the URL should begin with “https” rather than “http.” These elements signal that your information is encrypted — and therefore safe — as it passes

from your browser over the internet to the website’s server. Bank websites are highly secure, for obvious reasons. “When you pay bills online, there’s a digital record,” Kamber says. And

you’ll have no paper check for someone to intercept. A CAVEAT. If you’re used to putting your check in the mail before having money deposited or transferred to cover it, online payments do

away with that “float,” the delay between writing a check and having the money taken out of your account. TIPS. When paying on a company’s website or using your bank, you typically can set

up automatic disbursements, helpful if the amount is stable, such as for internet service or cable TV. “Just make sure there’s a little extra cushion in the bank account” to avoid

overdrafts, Kamber says. Another advantage to paying online, especially when using your bank’s service, is that you can schedule a payment’s exact date. MANAGING YOUR MONEY? TAKE A LOOK AT

THE BIG PICTURE USE ONLINE FINANCIAL PROGRAMS. With the shutdown of the popular Mint personal finance app in March, many people are looking for a new option to see their overall financial

picture. HOW THEY WORK. Popular new solutions include online programs such as Monarch Money, Rocket Money and Simplifi. All can keep track of your account balances and help manage your

spending. They’ll even alert you to streaming services and other subscriptions you have but may have forgotten about. Getty Images SECURITY TIP: VET THAT APP Scammers count on confusion

about the multitudes of finance apps in app stores and on websites to prey on people. Before you download software and enter your financial information, check the app company’s reputation.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau logs complaints against companies, and the Federal Trade Commission issues alerts and warning letters. “Credit cards don’t feel like real money, and

now we have digital wallets and virtual ways to pay,” Woroch says. “You have no idea at the end of the month how much you spend and how much you owe. And that can get you into trouble.”

Using these tools, you can get an overview of your finances all in one place without having to log in to various accounts, she says. ARE THEY SAFE? These services use the same type of online

security you’ll find from your bank, a standard called 256-bit encryption. But you’ll need to make sure that the logins for your overall service and each of your online financial accounts

have strong, unique passwords to thwart hackers. A CAVEAT. To get that dynamically updating financial overview, you must link all of your bank, brokerage, credit card and other financial

accounts to the service by entering your usernames and passwords. “You grant the provider access to multiple financial accounts,” says President and CEO Anabel Perez of NovoPayment, a

Miami-area firm that provides financial technology to companies. That means your banking accounts could be linked to this software, so “ensure you’re only giving that information to

providers you trust.”