How is late fees wasting money? Late fees are the price paid
for being financially irresponsibly.
Sound harsh? Perhaps. But some facts and evident truths are
never nice, polite, nor kind; now are they? Math does not lie about what we do and who we are. Why do we pretend otherwise?
Those who put forth extra effort to pay their payments, before
the due date, will enjoy the rewards of stress-free living and are not wasting their
money on late fees.
Apparently in statistics; most Americans do like to pay
late fees. Why? Because the statistics detail a huge problem of money denial by
paying late fees.
How many Americans create strategies to prevent paying late fees? How many Americans know how much their late fees are costing them monthly or
annually? What is the total cost of their money that is being wasted because of
paying late fees?
What do late fees
cost Americans?
Facts of late fees
totals in America and the bills paid late. More data available at Payscan.com.
- Late fees had grown from $7 billion in 2000 to $22 Billion in 2004. – What would we do if we had this money in pocket versus paying late fees?
- Grace periods are down from 27.8 days to 20.6 days [in 2004; less today]. – Grace periods exist on most accounts. Do we even know what our grace periods are on the accounts we pay.
- The average late penalty fee is $38.00. – In one year, this one late fee will cost us $456. What could we do with this money, if we weren’t paying late fees? Two late accounts doubles to $912 a year. Math doesn’t lie and neither should our budgets to prove we can’t manage money.
- The bill most likely to be paid late is the utility bill. – This is sad for this utility is a prime necessity. This should be our first bill to pay on time each month, not our last.
- Forty-three percent of people pay their wireless phone bill late. – Why do people pay extra late fees for services they cannot afford or will not pay on time? This is wasting money.
Characteristic
facts of those who regularly pay late fees. More data available at Payscan.com.
- Households with children are 75% more likely to miss payments than those without. – This is setting a bad example of managing money to children. Why would we do this? Isn’t leading by example the best way to teach children about responsible management of money?
- 25% of households pay one bill late each month. 4 in 10 homes have a problem to pay their bills on time. We do have a financial problem in America.
- 32 percent of college students have regularly missed or been late on a payment. – This is the saddest statistic of all. Those who attend college are investing time and money to learn. Do the students have the problem with not managing money wisely or is education failing to teach wise, mature financial management?
- Only 68% of women report paying their bills on time. 3 in 10 women do not pay their bills on time. Mothers, grandmothers, aunts, and gal pals should be helping one another to responsibly manage money together. Not being careless to live beyond one’s budget to keep up with lifestyles they cannot responsibly afford.
- 28.4 million of households pay at least one bill late per month. 3 in 10 Americans are paying late fees. These statistics are too high and do represent the real financial problems Americans do have. We can complain of our government, unfair late fees, and make a million excuses or blame others of why we fail to manage our money. But the truth is the money and budgets of our homes; is ours to control, spend, and live in the reality of our income. Not the lifestyles, we cannot afford.
This is disturbing
information. For the dollars being wasted of paying late fees is money that
Americans will not have to spend for other items they need or want. This represents a financial destructive cycle
that many Americans require help with to financially be responsible with their
money.
If you are paying late fees, do you know how much each
month the late fees are costing? Do you know how much a year, you are paying toward
late fees? Most do not even know. Why? Because most live with financial
blinders on. These problems of money will not go away. Math and truth solves
problems. The more we know about managing money wisely and responsibly; the
happier and healthier our homes will be with financial stability.
Is money producing
relationship problems in your home, spouse, partner, and children?
Wasting money on late fees in home budgets is only one relevant financial problem. This unhealthy routine will produce stress, failed families and homes,
and produce ill-effects on health. Mental, emotional, and psychological issues
can exist and excel because of the stresses that poor money management techniques
do.
There is no shame in seeking help and learning how to
stop the unhealthy money issues of our lives. The beauty of a new day is that
we have a chance to start over to get it responsibly and maturely right.
Awareness
Acknowledges Money Problems to Solve Them
Late Fee Costs Monthly and Yearly
1)
Calculate your monthly bills.
2)
Look at the late fees on the statement. Add the
late fees up separately - as its own bill.
3)
Now, multiply the late fees totals of each month
by 12 to get the yearly costs of late fees.
4)
Where is the action plan to stop this wasting of
money?
Example:
$1500 Total Monthly Bills
$150 late fees on bills each month.
$150 x 12 = $1800 a year wasted on late fee payments.
Account Interest Produces Monthly and Yearly
Waste of Money
Interest on accounts can become large amounts of money
wasted, when these accounts are not paid in full monthly.
1)
Calculate together the month credit accounts –
as if these accounts are only one bill.
2)
Add up only the interest fees, as if these
interest charges were their own bill.
3)
Now, multiply the monthly interest fees by 12 to
get the yearly costs of interest fees.
Example:
$1800 Total Monthly Bills
$125 interest fees on bills each month.
$125 x 12 = $1500 a year wasted on interest fee payments.
It is hard to imagine we could be losing $3300 of our
income each year because of $1800 in late fees and $1500 on interest fees. Does
this even matter? Only you can answer this. Only you can realize your facts and
math of your income. Only you can learn to budget the income you have.
Americans are smart people. However, most Americans
cannot manage their personal financials. Employers hire many every day to
control their financial transactions, without regards; to how well they manage
their finances in their personal lives.
Technology is changing the way recruiters hire new
employees. Companies use software as their Automated Human Resources. These
electronic job applications use Automated Tracking Systems to hire candidates
based upon keywords of their information to match the requirements of the job
posting.
How long will it be before our credit reports, ability to
pay our bills on time, and how we financially manage our personal finances will
be considered in the job hiring and job retention processes.
Would you hire a person who wants to earn $50,000 a year
salary, if they cannot wisely manage their $25,000 a year income? I think not.
If you believe this is far-fetched ideas or worry-less data; then perhaps, you
need to seek learning to understand how personal money will reflect on
professional money. These two abilities do work together, not separately.
Anything less is denial and not money facts.
Work and home life should financially balance one another
with integrity, truth, and honesty of financial management. These should never reflect
as opposites of one another. When businesses struggle financially this leads to
lay-offs and downsizing. When families and homes struggle financially, this
leads to divorce and hardships upon children that we can prevent.
As wonderful as it is maybe to manage a billion dollar
operation while working; make certain your home financial situation supersedes
this. For it is our home lives that we work to produce our best statistics and
financial control of; not work.
A job is only a tool to provide money to take care of our
homes. But the quality of life we have in our homes, is ours to control. We
should seek to learn and apply the best financial management skills we can with
the income we have. Knowledge is power and positive changes with money are
never easy; but is it the best time investment and money earned we can ever do.
