Getting behind on your credit card payments can be startlingly easy. It may be simply forgetting about the bill sitting in your inbox or a surprisingly large bill from purchases you forgot about. Once you get behind on your credit card payments and the collectors start calling, cleaning up the mess can seem impossible. There are some simple steps you can take, however, to deal with your overdue payments and get back on track.
Review Your Budget
Before contacting the credit card company to set up a repayment plan, review your incoming and outgoing money to make sure that you know how much you will be able to repay and when. Being overly optimistic with a payment plan can leave you scrambling or falling behind again. Budget enough to stay current with future payments and calculate how much you will have left to make the catch-up payments.
Talk to Your Credit Card Company
Ignoring the credit card company does not make them go away. Once you have a game plan for being caught up on your credit card payments, call the company and work out a repayment plan. Keep in mind that, no matter what plan you work out, they will most likely continue to report late payments to the credit bureaus, so try to catch up as soon as you can to minimize the damage to your credit report. Once you come to a repayment agreement with the card issuer, stick to it. A broken agreement will make them less likely to work with you on setting up another one.
Meet With a Debt Counselor
If you are becoming overwhelmed with credit card and other debt, it is time to call a debt counselor who can present you with various options. A debt counselor can also work with your creditors to make your repayments manageable. Choose a nonprofit debt counseling service that does not charge for its services and check their reputation with the Better Business Bureau. Make sure that you are clear on what services the counselor will offer and exactly how they can help you.
Manage Future Payments Carefully
Once you have settled your overdue credit card debt, it is important to keep on top of it in the future so that you do not make your credit report worse. When credit card bills come in the mail or online, make a note of the payment due date in your day planner. Plan to pay the amount due a few days before the due date to ensure that the payment has time to clear the bank and get recorded on your account. As part of your budgeting process, plan out how long it will take you to pay off the credit card in full. Once paid off, do not run up the balance again except in an emergency.
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