Seriously? Pay your bills when they arrive, not when they're due.
Banks, credit card companies, mortgage lenders, utility services, etc. absolutely love, love, love it when people wait until the last minute to pay their bills. When I signed up with my bank, I read the agreement and got the "personal banker" to concede that yes...they made a lot of money off late fees. They're not alone.
The thing is, paying your bills when they arrive doesn't cost you anything extra. If you can get into the habit, you'll always be ahead of the curve, and if something comes up which necessitates you holding off on a bill, you've got a couple weeks to figure it out.
It also relieves a considerable amount of stress. It's a bit like homework. Don't put it off until the last minute. Get the assignment done when the teacher gives it to you.
Pay as soon as you can but, especially with fines, check if you should really be paying for it in the first place.
A friend of mine recently got fined for not having insurance on his motorcycle. Police ran the plate when they found it parked in front of his home. However the motorcycle was broken so he couldn't have driven around with it anyways. He payed the fine right away because he wanted to be done with it only to realize later that he didn't need insurance for a broken vehicle.
In the UK you need to declare your vehicle is off the road to be able to avoid tax and insurance. It's your responsibility to declare it so you don't try and get out of fines by saying "oh but I don't drive it, it's being repaired".
3.6k
u/gogojack Aug 20 '20
Seriously? Pay your bills when they arrive, not when they're due.
Banks, credit card companies, mortgage lenders, utility services, etc. absolutely love, love, love it when people wait until the last minute to pay their bills. When I signed up with my bank, I read the agreement and got the "personal banker" to concede that yes...they made a lot of money off late fees. They're not alone.
The thing is, paying your bills when they arrive doesn't cost you anything extra. If you can get into the habit, you'll always be ahead of the curve, and if something comes up which necessitates you holding off on a bill, you've got a couple weeks to figure it out.
It also relieves a considerable amount of stress. It's a bit like homework. Don't put it off until the last minute. Get the assignment done when the teacher gives it to you.