- The Savvy Promise
Contrary to popular beliefs it takes 66 days to form a habit. When it comes to procrastinating, we all do it now and again. However, what happens when the small times we spend procrastinating affect our finances?
Putting off small payments can accumulate into large amounts that increase how much you pay on your credit card repayments. This will then result in late payments or even defaulting on your credit report. 32% of the Australian population, which is 6.2 million people, have missed out on a credit card payment. By putting off paying off your credit card bill can have negative effects on future lending. Here are five things you should stop procrastinating on.
Keep track of your finances to better manage your credit card
Going through your bank statement to look at every transaction might make you want to stare at the wall opposite you and think of conspiracy theories to pass the time. This is where you need to redirect your thoughts and find a place that will help you focus with no distractions.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), 87.4% of Australians enjoy spending their time watching TV. When going through your statement it will be best to switch off to focus on the numbers before you to see where do you keep losing funds.
Check your credit report
You can get free access to your credit report to view any accounts or loans that you still owe payment on. To make this task that might be considered not so fun, you can create a vision board of how much you would like to save towards paying off these bills. 40% of Australians fear a bad credit score. Your credit score can affect your future lending process. Try not to put this off as it might result in increasing mistakes that can leave a bad mark on your credit report.
Procrastinating can cost you
You get a call from a relative asking you if you have booked that hotel room yet, only to feel your stomach drop because it was supposed to be done four weeks ago and now they are arriving in two days’ time.
The immediate response is to whip out your credit card and surf the web frantically for something that matches your set budget, but its public holiday time meaning you will pay double the amount. If you procrastinate to the last minute you could end up running up your credit card bill, and realise that you are short on making it for the repayment date.
Automated payments pave’s the way
Our lives are becoming extremely busy and sometimes things can slip your mind such as paying off your credit card bill. To smoothen out the process when it comes to managing your payments it’s best to get an automated payment from your bank that will immediately reserve the money that needs to be paid towards your credit card. If you are not a fan of machines doing the work for you, then you can immediately remove the money you owe from your salary before you spend.
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