5/11/07

Stop paying credit card late fees

To stop paying credit card late fees, and in the process raise
your FICO credit score sustantially over time, you can simplify
the process by using a service your bank probably offers for free.
An automatic bill paying service offered by most banks for free can help make paying regular monthly bills a snap!
Your first step is to determine how much to pay. The easiest way to do this is to either pull out your last few credit card statements or log onto your online credit card account and check the past several months of payments.
We'd recommend setting your automatic monthly payment at about 20% over your minimum. This way, if you do add additional charges to your credit card debt, you will still be paying enough to make the monthly minimum on time every month... a surefire way to keep the credit card company happy and keep your credit score going up, up and away!
Getting started is easy. Simply check a few recent credit card statements to see what your usual minimum monthly payment is.
Then contact your bank. Register to use a free automatic bill paying services which allows you to make your recurring monthly payments whenever you choose. So if your payment is due the 10th of each month, set the automatic payment to be made midway through your billing cycle.
Just remember to keep enough in your checking account to cover this recurring amount. It'll be easy to do once you get in the habit of doing it, and if your bank does charge for this service, maybe it's time you shop around for a different bank!
Knowing when to pay the bill is important. For example, if your payment is due on the 1st of every month, set the payment to be made the 15th of every month. You won't be late. The payment made the 15th pays the payment due two weeks later (the 1st of the next month). So, when you do receive your statement online or in the mail, you can ignore it, or, if you want to further reduce credit card debt quicker, make an additional payment on your balance due and lower the debt yourself. This is optional.
So even if you never get your bill in the mail or you space it out and forget to mail your payment or log in to pay your credit card bill, you minimum payment will magically (well, automatically!) be made for you... all thanks to your automatic bill paying service.

Now, if you are the type to pay off all your credit cards in full each month, that's fine. This system will still work to your benefit if you are traveling for business or pleasure and you are away from home when you payment must be made. You can relax and know that your payments are being made in a timely fashion, and you can payoff the remaining balance amount you've charged up during your travels when you return.
As always, be sure to double check your monthly credit card statement so as to be certain that the minimum credit card payment you owe has not gone up above your scheduled recurring monthly payment. If it does, simply make the changes necessary for your automatic payment to more than cover the minimun due.

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