by Michelle Jones

Today’s families are busier than ever and keeping up with monthly bills can be, no doubt, as challenging as it has been for decades. Many are opting for direct online bill paying which just about eliminates the risk of receiving a late fee. However, instead of late fees, they may increase the opportunity for insufficient fund charges. If there is not enough money in the bank account when it comes time for the bills to be paid automatically, wham! Making sure there is always enough money in the account to cover the automated bills is vital to avoiding bank fees, if you choose direct bill paying.

If you do not have a lot of cash flow and can not keep enough money in your account to pay your bills, AT ALL TIMES, it may be best to stick with the old fashioned way of making payments. Whether you write a check and send it in the mail or pay online (many utilities and creditors will allow you to make one time payments online), just be sure it is not LATE!

Which is what brings me to the original topic of my column this month, LATE FEES. Everyone hates them, everyone tries their best to avoid them—I certainly hope! If you are racking up late fees all throughout the year without a care in the world, you need to seriously rethink that plan. Not only are you throwing money down the drain every time you pay one of those fees, but you are also damaging your credit. You may not care about that right now, but one day you will. This is something you can keep under control and it is well worth the effort.

Yet even as much as we try sometimes things happen, to all of us. I can’t even remember the last time we’ve had a late fee, it’s been a good while. But then we were having so much fun this summer. We had just returned from a family reunion out of state and it was near the end of the summer. The kids were getting ready to go back to school. We were having fun every day, playing games on Facebook, eating pizza and ice cream… you get the general idea. My normal working, budgeting, bill paying schedule was basically on hold.

I knew there were bills to be paid, there was money in the bank to pay them. I just forgot to take care of them. Yeah, all four of them. The water bill, the electric bill, and two of our daughter’s college loans. OUCH! I was ill. I didn’t even bother calling to ask if the late fees could be waived because what was I going to tell them? “Sorry I didn’t pay you on time, I was too busy having fun with my kids?!”

So, that was a first for me. The first time I’ve ever paid a bill late for no reason at all, and I took full responsibility for it. I just felt that I had to. However, it will NEVER happen again. In fact, it is my vow that there will never be a late bill in this household ever again, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER!!!

My budgeting system is awesome, it helps us make sure all our bills are paid on time. We have excellent credit and a great relationship with our bank. I know I should have called and at least tried to get the fees removed, after all, my motto is “It never hurts to ask!” But all I could think was “They are going to say… ‘You paid the bill late because of what?’ and “Oh my goodness, my readers won’t believe this happened to me!”

Maybe its just like my friend says about a lot of things lately, “That’s life.” But it honestly doesn’t have to be that way. We have gone a very LONG time without any late fees or fees for insufficient funds and it takes work. Keeping your bank accounts balanced each month is so important and making that date to pay your bills each week and go over your budget is the icing on the cake… it can change your life. You just have to stop whatever you’re doing and get it done!

original publication