Tightwad Tuesday: Watch Out for Late Fees!

Who, out there, pays all of their bills on time, all the time? 

If you do, that’s wonderful; I’m somewhat envious; and this post likely won’t apply to you.  If you’re anything like me, however, and life sometimes gets in the way of being prompt with your bills, watch out...being late will cost you. 

We all know credit cards charge horrendous late fees – upwards of $25 and more, but how many of us pay attention to the little fees the phone company, electric company or water company charge? 

I used to be pretty lax about how quickly I paid the wireless internet bill.  I use the phrase ‘used to be’ loosely – who knows when life might get in the way again?!  I had the money, but I just didn't care enough about it to send it in on time.  In a word, I was lazy and that was costing me $5 every month I was late.  What was I thinking?!

When I started on this tightwad bender I’m currently on, I began scrutinizing every bill that came my way.  If I am ever late with the landline bill, it will cost me $7 – that’s greater than 10% of my total bill!  It’s unbelievable how much these little late fees add up – the electric bill late fee is close to $10, the water bill is $3.  If we’re late on all 4 of those in 1 month, that’s an extra $25.  Do that a few times a year and we’re paying $100 or more in late fees alone!  I am trying my darndest to keep that from happening and have been successful for that past 5-6 months. 

I am, however, unsuccessful at avoiding late fees at the library.  It seems paradoxical for me advocate for the library as a form of free entertainment (last week's TT post) when my laziness at returning items is causing me to rack up late fees.  This is one area I can definitely improve upon.  Late fees at the library are rather small, but can add up quickly – at my library, movies are $1 per day while magazines and books are 25¢ a day.  I once owed $3.25 in late fees on a cookbook!  I could have bought that book used for what I paid in late fees.  Shame on me!  To help avoid those fees, I’m trying to remember to put the items in the passenger seat of my car the night before as a reminder the next morning to return them.

How can you avoid late fees?



You can set up automatic payments - all you have to do is make sure the money is in your account.  The company takes care of the rest.  Lots of people love this option, but automated payments just don’t work for me.  I’m not comfortable giving my account number to a credit card company, a utility company or phone company.  Many say it’s perfectly safe, but I’m not convinced. Besides the safety issue, I have a problem giving up control of when the bill is paid.  I like to be the one to say how much comes out and when.

If you pay your bills on-line, you can avoid late fees by scheduling your payments in advance.  When the bill comes in the mail, take a moment to set up the payment that day while it’s fresh in your mind.  Even though you’re giving the company access to your account, you still maintain some control because you decide when the payment comes out – maybe that’s on the due date, on the payday before that or another day that works best with your budget.

However you pay your bills, whether it’s automatic or on-line or by dropping a check in the mail, pay them on-time.  Late fees may seem small, but they can add up to a nice little chunk of change pretty quickly.  You probably already feel like you’re overpaying for a lot of services.  Don’t give those companies any more of your hard earned money by being lazy like I was. 

What kind of late fees do your utility companies charge?   How do you prefer to pay your bills?

Linking up with Frugal Tuesday Tip and Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways.