Credit Card Mistakes and Their Cures

One commenter suggested that personal finance bloggers were smug, and perhaps he was correct. I just discovered that I forgot to pay two of my credit cards, and my smugness disappeared instantly. Here's the damage:

– Credit Card #1: $25 late fee + $33 finance charge
— Credit Card #2: $15 late fee + more embarassment than I felt with the first card. Fortunately, I've had past experience with customer representatives, especially with reducing my cable bill, so it was a simple matter to call up the credit card companies and ask to have the late fees removed. I made sure to emphasize that it was a simple oversight on my part, that I have been a good customer with no late payments before now, and that it will never happen again. They were glad to help out, "…since this was your first time and all." Yippee!

The problem still remains, though, that I have my attention on lots of different things right now, so the time I have to scrutinize my finances is a lot less than it used to be. I'm solving this problem with one simple step that I should have learned after reading David Bach's The Automatic Millionaire book - Automation.

I've filled out the necessary forms for my credit cards to be paid automatically. Since our budgeting system leaves us with a significant buffer of cash in our checking account, there's no potential for overdrafts. It will just be one less thing that I have to do each month. And it will permanently cure the mistake of paying my credit cards late.

Now I just need to find a permanent cure for my personal finance blogger smugness…