What Sherry said in her comment on the last entry is exactly what I do, and it has paid off, big time.

I pay my accounts online, directly to the account holder. I get a receipt with a confirmation number at the end of the process which I print out and file. The two times I've had the timeliness of my payment challenged, I've faxed them the printout, they reversed the extra charges.

I checked the credit rating companies, and they had been informed properly, also. I wasn't playing games, and I think they got the message.

I have only one account--long term insurance from a major insurance company--which requires me to pay by check (I have no idea why). When the check clears, I can print a hard copy of the front and back of the cleared check via my credit union account, and I keep those hard copies in with the confirmation numbers printouts.

If I sound a little obsessive/compulsive about this, it's because I've been burned, and am now twice as careful about these monies. There's too much at stake.

So Sherry is right. Keeping records of when payments are due, paying online and printing payment receipts is the way to go, in my opinion: Mortgage, car insurance, property taxes, credit card payments, all via electronic transfer with instant proof of payment.

Works for me.