A Penny Saved

Chances are that you’ve been late on your credit card payment or miscalculated and been a little short in the bank account.  If you have, you’ve experience the joys of the fees.  $25 here, $39 there, they add up quick and can just as quickly make a bad situation worse.  That late charge on your credit card is going to rack up interest or eat into the principal part of the payment that you sent.  The overdraft fee will make you even more overdraft.

Each and every fee will cost you more money.  Worse, they potentially could cost you several 100% more than the fee itself.  Depending on how many items you send through your bank, each one could have a fee attached to it.  The more items, the more fees.  The more fees, the further into the red you venture.

How do you avoid these fees? Let’s face it. Sometimes you can’t.  But sometimes you can.  A simple call to the credit card company if you know that the payment is going to be late can help.  Most will allow you to make an additional payment right over the phone.  If your minimum payment is less than the fee, this can be an excellent way to avoid the fee.  If you’re looking overdraft fees in the face, a visit to your bank can usually help.  If your credit is decent, they can sometimes offer short term loans to cover the overdraft amount.  Other times, the will agree to waive the fees if you have been a quality customer.

The main thing is avoiding the fees.  Swallow your pride a little and ask the institution for help.  Helping you means repeat business for them.

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