If you've ever missed a payment or gone over your overdraft limit, you know how much it costs to pay the fees. One fee for being late on a payment can cause you to go over your overdraft limit, which can lead to another fee. If you don't want to pay money for bank fees, here are some tips that will help you.
Create a schedule
The first thing you need to do is make a plan for when you will pay each of your monthly bills. If you know when and how much your bills are likely to be, you will be better prepared to pay them when the time comes. If you have bills that can be paid any time of the month, pick a time that works best for you.
Prepare a budget
Once you know when and how much your bills will be, you should make a budget to figure out how much money you'll need every month to pay them. If you're not sure of the exact amount of a bill, it's better to overestimate because that will keep you within the agreed-upon budget. Having a budget will help you spend only what you can afford each month so you don't have to pay fees for going overdrawn.
Agree an overdraft
If you often spend more than you have in your account, talk to your bank about getting an overdraft. Even though agreed overdrafts often still have interest rates, the amounts you have to pay back are much smaller, and you won't be charged a lot of fees if you go over. If you have a good credit history, you should be able to agree on an overdraft amount that fits your needs. If you don't use it, that's great, but if you do, it will be there to help you avoid paying expensive fees.
Change how you pay bills
When you have a lot of bills to pay and they need to be paid at different times of the month, it can be hard to keep track of everything. Talk to the companies you owe money to and set up one or two dates when you can pay most of your bills. This will make paying your bills faster and easier, and you'll be less likely to forget.
Online banking
Using online banking is another way to pay your bills quickly and avoid late fees. If there is a line at your local branch and you are busy, you might not have time to pay a bill. Since banks are closed on the weekend, you might miss a payment by a few days, which will cost you money. You can avoid this by using online banking, which lets you pay bills whenever you want with just a few clicks. This will help you pay on time, which will save you a lot of money in late fees.
Talk to your bank
If you think you might be late on a payment, you can always talk to your bank about it. If you tell your bank that the payment has been sent, they may not charge you a late fee. Even though this doesn't always work, banks tend to be more understanding when they know ahead of time that a payment will be late.
