By Rick
Your credit card monthly payment is the most important appointment you have to keep. Missing a single payment can start a cycle of lower credit scores and higher interest rates that can haunt you for years. Making your payments on time is critical to your financial health and can affect all of your future loans and accounts if not handled properly.
Set yourself a reminder
Most credit card companies will bill you on a set schedule and your credit card monthly payment will fall on a similar day each month. Keeping track of when this payment is approaching can help ensure you’re never late. With the advent of Smartphones, tablets and computers there’s never a reason to forget this important date.
Set a reminder or two of when your payment is due so you’re sure to satisfy this obligation well in advance of that date. Some lenders websites will even send you a message a few days before the due date for a credit card monthly payment. This is a great way to stay ahead of these payments and can help remind you to make the payment on time. If you choose to go paper-less with a particular lender you may even get access to more online features such as long-term records of your transactions and printing of receipts for tax purposes at the end of the year.
Take advantage of automated payments
With websites becoming more sophisticated, many lenders allow you to set up a recurring credit card monthly payment. By linking your bank account to this credit card account you can have your monthly payment made for you automatically. This works great if you want to pay off your card every month in full and even helps with minimum payment accounts.
The key is making sure your accounts are properly linked and that you have the funds needed to cover any payments made to the card. Once you get this set up, you can rest easy as your credit card monthly payment is done automatically. For accounts where you only want to make sure the minimum amount Is sent, you can always come back into the account and make a second payment against the principle to pay off your card more quickly. Most credit card companies will allow you to make several payments each month on a particular card to fit your schedule.
Automated banking can help
In addition to the credit card lenders website making your payments, your bank may also offer this service. Many banks now enable you to organize all of your monthly bills on their websites and pay them electronically. You not only save the hassle and expense of sending a check each month, you can easily pay all of your monthly bills in a few minutes from the comfort of your home.
With most banks this service is free and allows you to organize your monthly obligations and have a complete record of all your payments for tax purposes. Doing these payments through your bank also makes it easier to decide which accounts you want to use to make your payments and provides the ultimate in flexibility.
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