How do you manage reminders for annual things like MOT, insurance policies etc

[TimeTime]

I am trying to be more organised this year and get some systems in place. I have just done a spreadsheet which lists which supplier provides our various utilities, insurances etc. I’d like a reminder which pops up somewhere of when insurance, MOT & things are due for renewal as, at the moment, I tend to rely on the relevant provider contacting me. I’d rather have an independent system too. DH& I have both got iPhones & both use Outlook if that helps.
Thanks!

I still get paper or email reminders for everything, normally around 4 weeks ahead of time, never missed anything. Writing things into paper calendars sounds like a lot of effort.

Yes this…

@LupinLou 5-10 mins once per year.

This thread seems to be confirming what I suspect: that few people have paper calendars.

Im definitely going back to a paper diary when I retire!

@LupinLou no more effort than using an app. Just select the right calendar month and write Mot/insurance etc on the right day. Flip calendar to next month at the end of the month. Job done.
I’ve just used my phone calendar to book in a reminder and it took more clicks and then typing them more clicks to save it than putting it on the calendar!

I don't put them in any calendar so no clicks to save

@LupinLou great memory you have - the worry I would forget something would be too great. I don’t rely on getting a reminder by post/email due to needing to plan finances.

I'm still living in the 90's so I have a page a day diary. I write everything in it and make notes if necessary. I also put it on an actual calendar which I have pinned up in the kitchen. Of course, you've still got to remember to look at them. Doesn't your insurance company send you a reminder to renew anyway and the DVLA with road tax?

I’m very glad I started this thread as, despite having an iPhone for at least a decade, I have somehow never noticed the reminders thing. I’ve been thinking for years how helpful it would be if there was something like that! I am comforting myself with the thought that I wouldn’t have had the time to input all of the information to make best use of it. That’s now this week’s plan!
As for being sent reminders by the insurers, DVLA etc, yes I do get those but it only takes a misplaced letter (likely in a village with a lot of similar addresses) or a glitch in the system for that to not happen. For something where the consequences could be catastrophic, I would rather have my own system in place too.
I am looking forward to giving the impression of an organised, calm person going forward!

I use the TimeTree app! I don’t pay for it just the free one but it’s amazing as you can colour coordinate things and we have a lot of appointments so I have a joint account with my OH

I have a free app called know your car which reminds me and shows each car and when tax insurance and mots run out. And you can look back on old mots.

I think the issue is not having a calendar. It’s not having a “do it now” attitude… when I get the reminder through my email or read the post I literally do it that day. Then the job is done and I forget about it.

Yes, I'm bemused by the idea I have to have a great memory to just rely on email/postal reminders. I don't need to have any memory at all, just open the post/email. I don't have to remember to fill in a calendar in the first place or check what's coming up on the calendar.

Car tax DVLA direct debit so it just rolls over.
Car insurance - they remind me via email.
MOT - I have service plans that include MOT so the garage phone me up about a month ahead to arrange service and MOT
House insurance - reminder sent via post
Everything else is on my electric calendar with an appropriate reminder.
We used to have a big wall planner but I have moved to digital planner because as soon as I switch on my phone in the morning it lists everything for that day and any future reminders.

I do that for simple things like car tax or booking an MOT. Shopping around for insurance takes longer though and needs to be done earlier than when the renewal reminder comes through to get the best prices. But fair enough if you have more free time or just let them renew.

Phone calendar, set to repeat annually with reminders at an appropriate point beforehand.

DH is an obsessive list keeper. He gets very irritating with his reminders.
Happy to lend him to you!

We have a large family style wall planner calendar by month.
At the end of the year, I write all the MOT dates, insurance renewals, car tax, horse /dog vaccinations etc from the dates in this calendar to the new year's calendar, and a reminder in the To Do box at the end of each month - so next month has Book Horse dentist by 6 March & Bike MOT by 1 March, next month has Bike Insurance due 3 April. I also writ e the Feed in Tariff reading dates.
We all look at the calendar, as it's right next to the fridge, whenever we make a cuppa. No excuses, and it always works.

Same as pp use the free mode on the Time Tree app.

Inspirational.
I'm very visual and like a broad overview of a couple of months at a time at a glance ideally, so I custom make myself a large planner which lives on a clipboard. I have a photo of it in my gallery to refer to when out and about. I find electronic calendars frustrating and spent ages trying to find a nice and easy 'scribbling' online / app diary that mimics a large wall planner but haven't found one that feels intuitive to me.

I always get a reminder text/email.

RNWL app is brilliant

We have a ‘boring house hold shite* WhatsApp chat with DH and I so all screen shots of insurance and dates etc go into this chat, we also have photos of ID / important documents and manuals that have been photographed and shared there. Then we’ve got an iCal notification set up to that WhatsApp group so iCal will message us when it’s time to get new quotes etc. it’s actually super helpful and it stops the boring yet important shite getting lost in the phone. If I need a copy of our will or insurance policy it’s in the photos of this chat

I get an email from insurances and get on to it via the Martin Lewis website. Car Tax is etched in my memory as unknowingly while waiting for an MOT certificate the tax was out for a couple of days and I got nicked coming back from the supermarket, and was given a costly on the spot fine, having been followed home by a police car.
😳😳

Google calendar that I share with my husband. You can set when you want reminders to repeat.