The absolute last thing that we need right now considering the economy is unnecessary late fees. The average fee that is charged for a late payment by a credit card company is a surprising $39 dollars. But when you are literally living from one paycheck to the next and trying to juggle the due dates for so many different bills, sometimes these painful late fees can seem completely unavoidable. Not only do late fees add to your mounding debt, but they also put you at risk of an increase in your credit card interest rates, because falling late on your payments makes you appear as if you are a larger risk to lenders.
Understand your Deadlines
It is important for you to get to know the policies for the lender you are working with. If payments are initially due on the first of the month but the late fee is charged after the 15th, you should not assume that your real deadline is the 15th. Your mortgage company may actually assess a late fee even if your check arrives even only a few hours late. If you are looking for wiggle room, take the time to do enough research that you know for sure how much time you have before a late fee is going to be assessed.
Read the fine print on the back of one of your bills and give the company a call to confirm that you have the right understanding regarding your bills. This way, you can make sure that you know how much wiggle room you actually have, and you do not improperly estimate how much time you have to pay a bill.
To make sure that you do not accidentally miss one of your payments, you should write down the due dates for the bills on the envelopes that you receive, and then you should stack all of your bills in order based on due date. You should also write the dates down on your calendar in a red pen, checking your calendar often to make sure that you do not have any bills that get overlooked or missed.
Spreading Out Due Dates
Another tactic for eliminating late fees is to spread out your due dates. If all of your bills are due right around the same time, then consider changing the dates on some of them to take better control of the situation. Most lenders are going to be willing to accommodate you by moving your due dates if it means helping you make your payments on time. If you start spreading all of your bills out over the span of the month, you will be able to manage your cash flow more easily because you are not becoming overwhelmed by all of your bills at one time. If you let the credit unions, credit card companies and other lenders know this fact, they should be accommodating for you.
Photo Credits: Gemma Grace
Originally posted 2009-10-07 03:35:52. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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