Overdue Bills? This Simple Tool Will Help You Pay Them Fast

Overdue bills could result in adverse consequences with far-reaching effects. Missing the settlement date will attract late payment fees and interest penalties, mushrooming the size of the debt. In case of a secured debt, you will also be at risk of losing your property. Financial experts enjoin that you should fine-tune your budget to debt payments. Debt obligations must be your top priority. 

When struggling with debt payments, you would have to revise your budget to see where you can whittle down your expenses. Releasing some cash by cutting back on your expenses could help you adhere to payments. Keep tabs on your expenses. In order to ensure on-time payments, you will need to ban your discretionary expenses.

However, sometimes, fine-tuning your budget does not help you to discharge the debt. The amount of debt might be way too much. It is always recommended that you carefully figure out ways to keep up with payments. Overdue bills will not only lower your credit points, but they will also ruin your financial condition. Here are the simple tricks to help pay overdue bills faster:

·        Set up automated payments

If you have multiple debts, you might struggle to remember the due dates of different debts. Once you slip up or fall behind on payments, late payment fees and interest penalties are charged. They accumulate the size of the debt quickly. As a result, you will find it even harder to repay the debt. If you fall behind on payments because due dates fall through the cracks, you should opt for an automated payment method.

This means you do not have to remember the due dates for each debt. When the due date comes, the payment will automatically be pulled from your account. However, make sure that you have a sufficient balance to discharge the debt. A rule of thumb says that you should have a separate account to utilize to pay off debt.

As soon as you receive your paycheque, you should transfer the amount that you need to meet all your obligations to another account that is linked to your credits. Once you have sufficient balance in your account, you will be able to adhere to payments.

·        Set reminders

While short term loans with a no credit check involve an auto-debit payment, most of the lenders in the UK do not provide this facility for larger loans such as personal loans, mortgages, and auto loans. Of course, you would have to remember the due date. A missed due date would increase complications for you.

It can be a bit challenging to manage payments on different due dates. Here comes the role of setting reminders. Use calendars and mark the due date for each loan. Place this calendar where it is convenient to access. You can keep the calendar on the refrigerator or on the nightstand.

Nowadays, technology has improved. You really no longer have to rely on the traditional date-marking system. Just open a calendar on your mobile phone and set reminders. When the date is due, a notification will pop up on your phone. Some smartphones have the ability to synchronise with your alarm. So, in case you miss reading the notification, the alarm tone will remind you that it is an important event. This is how you can avoid missing payments on the due date.

·        Create a budget and track your expenses

In order to ensure on-time payments of your bills, you must create a budget. Budgeting is essential to understand how much money is coming in and how much is going out. Creating a manual budget is quite challenging as many borrowers find it tediously boring. Further, sometimes they forget to note down every expense they make. Therefore, you should use a budgeting app.

One of the biggest benefits of these apps is that you can link them directly to your bank account, and they would fetch all transactions. As you will have all transactions in one place, you will be able to easily track how much money you spend and where.

However, bear in mind that cash transactions will have to be recorded manually. Apps generally record only those transactions that you make through a payment app or a debit card. Any amount debited by your bank as fees must be recorded by you. Do not forget to record credit card transactions as well.

With the help of budgeting apps, you could divide your expenses into essential and discretionary. Then, you can carefully examine where you are spending most of your money. It would help you come up with some ways to whittle down your expenses.

·        Use debt management strategies

If your debts are already overdue, you should immediately talk to your lenders. It is vital to let them know about your true financial condition. A responsible lender expects you to come forward to seek assistance in case of financial trouble. You should always try to be transparent and honest about your repaying capacity. They would certainly help you.

A couple of options are out there that they might offer you to consider. For instance, they may offer payment holidays. This is exclusively available for secured long-term loans such as mortgages. Payment holiday lasts for a month or two, but remember that interest will keep accruing. In addition, they could also allow you to make a minimum repayment on small loans such as everyday loans on benefits.

It is recommended that you repay more than the minimum balance because otherwise, you will end up paying a lot more money in total because interest will keep accruing on the unpaid balance.

The bottom line

You should always try to settle your bills on time, whether they are debt payments or energy bills. If you are strolling with overdue bills, you should consider some assistance and aid programmes from the government. Apart from that, you should work on your budget. Make sure that you minimise your expenses, so you can retain some cash to pay off the debt on time.