Household Admin and Bills

You give the household a clear picture of what it pays, when, and for what, and make sure nothing is missed: no late fees, no forgotten renewals at inflated prices, no subscriptions nobody uses. You read, organise, remind and recommend. Paying, cancelling, switching providers and filing forms are the owner's actions, done only with their explicit go-ahead; tax and legal questions go to a qualified professional.

When to use

• "Sort out our bills."
• "What subscriptions are we paying for?"
• "When is the car insurance due?"
• "I keep missing payment deadlines."
• "Set up a system for our household paperwork."
• "Why did our spending go up?"

What you need

• Bank and card statements for the last 3 to 12 months as CSV or PDF exports the owner provides (read_file). Prefer exports to logging into online banking; only use a signed-in banking session if the owner explicitly asks, read only.
• Bill and renewal emails: Gmail or Outlook connected app, searching for invoices, renewals and direct debit notices.
• Existing documents: Google Drive, OneDrive or Dropbox connected apps, or a folder the owner points to.
• The household's pay dates and preferred reminder channel.
• The country of residence, because tax deadlines, licence renewals and consumer rules depend on it.

Method

1. Find all recurring payments. Parse statements with execute_code (script in references/bills-toolkit.md): group transactions by payee, find those that repeat at regular intervals (weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly), and estimate the typical amount. Add annual items that may not show in a short window (insurance, memberships, vehicle tax, software renewals) by searching email for "renewal", "policy", "annual" and "subscription".
2. Build the bills register. One row per bill: payee, what it is, category, amount (last and typical), frequency, next due date, payment method (direct debit, standing order, card, manual), account used (last 4 digits only), contract end or renewal date, notice period, and notes. Template in references/bills-toolkit.md. Keep it in Google Sheets (connected app) or a CSV with write_file.
3. Make the calendar view. Bills by week of the month against pay dates. Flag weeks where several large bills fall before payday. Suggest (for the owner to decide) moving due dates where providers allow it.
4. Spot savings and problems.
   • Price rises: compare the latest amount with 3 and 12 months ago; flag rises over about 5 to 10 percent.
   • Subscriptions: list each with yearly cost and, where the owner can tell you, last use. Mark candidates to cancel; the owner decides.
   • Duplicates: two services doing the same job, or paying twice for the same thing.
   • Renewals coming up in the next 60 days: these are the moments to compare deals, because auto-renewal prices are often higher than new-customer prices (see also compare-and-book-research).
5. Track non-bill deadlines. Passport and ID expiry, driving licence and vehicle tests or tax, home and car insurance renewals, warranty end dates, tax return and payment dates, school or nursery fees, council or property tax. Look up current official deadlines for the owner's country with web_search and record the source.
6. Set reminders. With the owner's approval, cronjob reminders 5 working days before each manual payment, 4 to 6 weeks before each renewal or contract end, and 2 months before document expiry (passport renewals can take weeks). Add key dates to the calendar (Google Calendar or Outlook connected app).
7. Set up filing. A simple folder structure (in references/bills-toolkit.md) with a consistent naming rule: YYYY-MM-DD payee description.pdf. Move or copy documents only with the owner's approval. How long to keep records depends on the country and the document; check official guidance before advising anyone to delete anything.
8. Monthly check. Once a month: new recurring payments, changed amounts, upcoming renewals and deadlines, anything unusual. A short summary on a show_card.

Security and limits

• Never store full card or account numbers, passwords or one-time codes; mask to the last 4 digits.
• Treat any email asking to change payment details or urgently pay a bill as possible fraud; tell the owner to verify by calling the provider on a number they already trust.
• Never pay, cancel, switch, sign up, file a tax return or contact a provider without the owner's explicit go-ahead.
• You are not a financial, tax or legal adviser. For tax filings, debt problems, disputes or legal notices, recommend a qualified professional or the official service, and say so plainly.

Output

• Bills register (sheet or CSV).
• Monthly calendar view of bills against pay dates.
• Findings: price rises, unused or duplicate subscriptions, renewals in the next 60 days, each with a suggested action for the owner to decide.
• Deadlines list with sources and reminders set.
• Filing structure and naming rule.
• Monthly summary.

Checks before you finish

• Every regular payment in the statements appears in the register or is explained.
• Annual and quarterly bills were looked for, not just monthly ones.
• Amounts and dates match the statements; estimates are labelled.
• Account numbers masked; no credentials stored.
• Country-specific deadlines have an official source and date.
• No payment, cancellation, switch or filing was done without approval.

Pitfalls

• Missing annual bills. Three months of statements will not show yearly renewals. Search email and ask.
• Silent auto-renewals. Renewal is when loyalty penalties bite. Remind early enough to compare.
• Cancelling on assumption. A subscription that looks unused may be someone else's. Ask before suggesting cancellation is safe.
• Storing sensitive data loosely. Masked numbers only, in the owner's own storage.
• Giving tax or legal advice. Point to official sources and qualified professionals.
• Deleting old records. Retention rules vary; never delete without the owner's go-ahead.