Americans’ love affair with credit cards continues unabated. Today, the average American holds between five and ten credit cards. Like cell phones, email, music players, and other modern conveniences, it’s hard to imagine life without credit cards.
Juggling payments on multiple credit cards can be both time-consuming and challenging, particularly when you have five to ten bills coming in every month on top of your other bills. Life gets busy, and it is easy to overlook a bill when there is a lot going on. And, suddenly, before you know it, you are saddled with a $39 late payment fee, or perhaps an unwelcome interest rate increase.
Fortunately, if you set things up the right way, you can make the process of paying your credit cards almost automatic. Try these five steps to simplify your financial life and cut down on the time you spend managing your credit card payments.
Step 1 — Streamline Payment Due Dates
Having bills coming in at different times of the month with different due dates is a formula for trouble. It makes it much harder to keep track of which bills have been paid and which haven’t, and it’s easy to overlook a payment, particularly if you are travelling. To avoid this, line up the payment due dates on all your credit cards, so your cards come due at the same time each the month. Many credit card companies will honor your request to change the payment due date on your cards to a date specified by you.
Quick Tip: Choose a payment due date that falls seven to ten days after you receive your payment check each month—or coordinate the due date with your other monthly bills.
