After spending over a decade trying to help my family members to save and budget and get on top of the costs of living, we've probably come across one of the "only method that works"
It pretty much boils down to: they pay me $100 a week. I pay all their bills for them no matter how big they are.
This has totally smashed all prior efforts of getting on-top of personal finance for them.
There's no more monthly/quarterly/yearly slump where they pay bills out of the first paycheck they get. They don't accidentally spend their bill money, and now vice tax come after bills have been paid.
All in all, this system really has worked well, so much so that they now have the peace of mind to actually think about what they're doing, because they're not gasping for air each time. Not to mention it's slightly cash positive on my end. They've even said they'd pay more for the service if they had to, and their friends want in on it too.
Is there something like this that exists? It's not quite a "trust" set up, but rather like "debt-consolidation" or insurance for bills: I tell them that as long as they pay the weekly amount. Bills are paid.
I'm hoping that this exists already, otherwise it sounds like something that should exist and could help a lot of people. I've been looking around for what would be needed for me to register and so this legally in Australia, but there's a large amount of hurdles to overcome (including large capital requirements, if it's considered an insurance product)
For people who don’t live on the edge: autopay. Most banks in the US have an automatic bill pay service.