Budgeting

Don’t Pay the Price for Late Bills: Australians Beware”

Stuck in a rut with all those late bills?

You are in good company. At least 35% percent of Australians are paying late fees, penalties and other increases on their bills because of late payments. (What a bonus for the companies they owe money to!) While it may seem minor, it isn’t. Failure to pay your bills on time creates a situation where a twenty-dollar payment turns into a fifty-five dollar payment, and strains your budget. If you have more than one late bill, you are definitely feeling the pain. Think about putting your financial house in order, as soon as you can.

There are many ways to make sure you aren’t being forced to double and triple your monthly bill payments. Let’s take a look at some of those.

Don’t give yourself the opportunity to forget bills.

Establish a monthly bill payment routine that keeps your debts at the forefront of your thoughts. Mark your payment dates on a calendar, or set your mobile phone up to send you alerts about payment times. The more you are keeping yourself aware of your payment dates, the better you are able to to pay on time and avoid late fees and other penalties.

Get your budget mapped out.

Bills should be active participants in your budget. You should have a budget, and stick to it. Take all your bills, figure out the total, then work that amount into your budget. This type of mindfulness about bills will also help you to make intelligent financial decisions in the future. When you know precisely what your financial situation is at any time, you are far less likely to make impulse buys or frivolous purchases.

If you are completely bogged down, get help.

It happens. Unexpected emergencies arise, and you are out of budget money quickly. When financial crises occur, don’t hesitate to get help. Look into borrowing a small amount of money to get yourself solvent again. If you can borrow enough money to get yourself out of debt and pay off your bills, you can start over again, with only one payment, as opposed to five. It is far better to borrow money and avoid black credit marks than to continue struggling to pay bills that just keep getting bigger and bigger.

Don’t be locked into late fees and financial penalties on your bills. Don’t get caught gathering negative credit reports due to non-or slow payments. A reasonable small personal loan will help you take care of your problems and establish a payment plan that works for you. Contact us for more information.