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It’s been on your mind all weekend.  You know it’s due today and you’re going to do it as soon as you get home but something comes up and you completely forget.  The next day you wake up to an alert on your phone that you were assessed a late fee on your credit card. Ughhh….you planned to pay it and still forgot.  You’re angry, upset, and trying to figure out how you forgot. Instead of focusing on yesterday you need to figure out what you can do right now to fix it.

 Here is what you do:

1. Make the payment as soon as possible.  So I know you are upset right now but go ahead and make the payment.  It’s going to put you in a good position for the next step. Also, you don’t want to wait until next month to pay because they are going to start calling you.  Also, lenders don’t report late payments until the account is 30 days past due, you don’t want a 30-day late on your credit report. According to FICO data, a 30-day delinquency could cause as much as a 90- to 110-point drop on a FICO Score of 780 for a consumer who has never missed a payment on any credit account.

2. Contact your credit card company and ask them to waive the late fee.  Make sure you have already made your payment, and explain that the missed payment was an accident and ask them to waive the payment.  Most creditors are willing to waive the payment if it is not a normal occurrence.

3. Set up automatic payments   This is the easiest way to make sure don’t miss a payment.  If you set up an automatic payment, for the day after your payday,  for at least to minimum amount due then you will know that the payment is made every month.  You can make your additional debt payments separately.

4. Pay all of your bills on payday.  If you don't want to set up automatic payments, pay all of your bills on payday.  This has been a lifesaver for me and it is something I still do now.  If you pay all of your bills on payday, you don’t have to worry about missing a payment.  You will have a clear idea of how much you have left.

So instead of focusing on the missed payment, focus on making the payment, getting the late fee removed and making your bill paying process automatically so you don’t have to worry about this ever again.