Atlanta Weather

| Traffic

Search
Atlanta Bargain Hunter

5 tips to avoid late fees

7:00 am October 5, 2009, by Rana Cash

One of the quickest ways to damage your credit and drive up your interest rates is to make continual late payments. In many instances, it is avoidable. Simply asking for a later scheduled payment date — perhaps one that works in better concert with your pay period — could be the answer to your problem.

Learn more tips on avoiding late payments by watching this Good Housekeeping video:

Since credit card companies can charge as much as $40 for late payments, and mortgage lenders charge even more, it makes sense to avoid the late-fee trap at all costs.

Use these tips to help:

  • Negotiate for a later due date
  • Make automatic payments through your bank account.
  • Send your self electronic calendar reminders 5-10 days before your bills are due.
  • Mail your payment via FedEx. That might be expensive, but it’s cheaper than the $40 late fee you’ll be hit with.
  • Stagger your due dates so that all of your cash flow does not go to bills in one sitting.

Get more advice here, then leave tips of your own below. How do you avoid late fees? What keeps you on schedule? What negotiating tactics have you found most successful?

Follow me on Twitter @atlbargains

  • Print

16 comments Add your comment

Prof

October 5th, 2009
8:07 am

Twice in your article you said: “latter.” It’s: “later.” Since you did it more than once, I guess you just don’t know. Wasn’t that taught in elementary school?

Telling people to save money on late fees by sending the payment by FedEx? WHAT???? Yeah, pay $20 to send the payment or just send it regular mail 2 days earlier. You call that good financial advice?

Vick=Dog killing thug

October 5th, 2009
8:17 am

Shut up prof.. you dork

teila

October 5th, 2009
8:46 am

Enter your comments here

Tyree

October 5th, 2009
8:49 am

LOL…Vick = Dog killing Thug. HA HA HA HA HA AH HA…woof woof woof.

GA Girl

October 5th, 2009
8:55 am

Prof, your comment was entered after 8 AM. Why aren’t you in class tormenting your students?

Becky

October 5th, 2009
9:50 am

Prof, must be nice to be perfect..Yes, she said mail it FedEx..Did you not read the last part of that sentence?

Prof

October 5th, 2009
10:04 am

Becky – yes I read that sentence. THAT’S WHAT WAS WRONG!!! DUH.

It’s absolutely stupid to mail in a payment by FedEx and pay $20. That was my point. Mail the check two days earlier (USPS) and the creditor will get it on the same day as the FedEx. Sooooooooo, why would you EVER pay an extra $20? That’s my point, it’s stupid. Someone trying to help you save money should NEVER tell you to pay an extra $20 per bill for no reason.

And….Rana Cash is writing on a newspaper website. Therefore, she should know how to at least spell the most basic words, such as later.

Prof

October 5th, 2009
1:45 pm

Good, I see she (or an editor) has now spelled “later” correctly.

jennifer

October 6th, 2009
12:03 pm

It seems to me that Rana is ignoring the most obvious option – online payments through the credit card company’s website. Who mails bill payments anymore? If you pay it online you can get credited the day the payment is made.

I agree that FedExing a payment is an absurd suggestion. Why not just call the company and make a payment by phone. They may charge you $5-10 but it’s still cheaper and less time consuming that using FedEx.

puzzled

October 6th, 2009
12:05 pm

did I miss a tip here to pay the bill online using the company’s website? It’s almost always free and usually posted same day. Much cheaper than FedEx and easy to print out a confirmation.

Rana Cash

October 6th, 2009
12:13 pm

Puzzled: That should be your first step; try to make the payment online. Sometimes, if it’s a same day-payment, you will have to pay a little extra.
Making payments by phone are usually more than $5 or $10, but if it saves you money, do it.
The FedEx option is to get it there before you’re ever assessed a late fee. It’s expensive, but cheaper and less harmful than a late fee. It’s not a rule; just a suggestion if you’re up against time. Bottom line: Don’t become a repeated offender, lose money, lose credit and lose credibility.

sexy1977

October 6th, 2009
1:11 pm

what happened to just paying BEFORE the due date to aviod late fees?

mitzymy

October 6th, 2009
1:15 pm

I still mail my payments because I want a written record in case they say I didn’t send it. I mail the payments 7 to 10 days in advance, and watch for it to appear on the computer so that I can check it off in my bank register. Lowe’s is really bad about posting payments, so you have to watch them closely. For September, they waited 16 days before they posted my payment, and I was sweating profusely until I saw it come up. Their intrest rate is already 26%, I could not handle a higher one. If you make a payment over the phone, as I have done with my mortgage, it cost $20.00 if you want it to get posted before the 16th. I don’t know what happens after that, and I don’t ever want to know. The credit card industry makes billions on late fees alone, and they are the ultimate crooks. They are adjusting to the new rules, and changing the way they do business so that they will not lose money, or earn less when they come into effect. They are raising intrest rates, and sending out letters stating that if you want to opt out, they will automaticlay close the account, and the balance will be due in full right away. Calling them, as we have been instructed to do, does not change anything.

Jose

October 6th, 2009
2:07 pm

I think that we all should go back to cash, carry, and layaway. Nobody cares about nobody. They need the small people to survive. If the small people band together and stop using their services, they will treat all of us respectfully. I have excellent credit but I am being treated as if I am not going to pay or steal from them. I have even had my payment posted to another account but the check cleared my checking account for Georgia Power. They treated me as if I wasn’t going to pay them. I haven’t miss a payment with them in 23 years. I had to call them a thief in order for them to give me the right credit for my payment. I had ask for it in writing to make sure that they posted it correctly but haven’t seen anything yet. Everybody is looking for ways to try to charge you a late fee. I am at the point where having good credit and paying what you owe isn’t good enough for these jerks. I think that if we all could cut back on everything that we do, we can make that statement that the public has had enough. I don’t know or what to say to the ones that are behind the eight ball in this economy except for to hang in there because we all are going to make it. They can’t keep us hostage forever. For the ones that think that the people that got it made, No, they treat us worse than you because you are ones that have stood up and told them where to go and how to get there. We are the ones that want to do the right thing but those days are being numbered. We made it before without the banks and their wild forms of banking. We can make it again without them.

glizygirl

October 6th, 2009
2:13 pm

Thanks for correcting the spelling, Prof! It is time to start calling people out on their spelling…esp a writer for the AJC! You are not being a dork, but trying to help people learn how to spell…a basic skill learned in school!!

yoyo

October 7th, 2009
3:30 am

I think we have gotten away from the question at hand. Let’s just get past the misspelled word and get to the root of the problem, which is credit card payments and late fees. I was hoping someone would be able to actually offer up some advice that is helpful. Yes, people are aware
that a bill is do on a certain date and sometimes things come up especially with the economy the way it is and my situation leaves me with having to chose to pay my mortgage, lights, and other necessities such as grocery until my husband’s job picks back up and we can get on tract. but in the meantime how do we keep up. Obviously I can’t just tell the people to step off, and maybe they will ge their payment soon.