4 ways to help you avoid making late payments on your rent

Fortunately, late payments are avoidable.

Here are four ways you may be able to avoid late payments:

1. Sign up for autopay

One way to avoid the threat of late payments is to sign up for autopay.

Autopay is when you authorize your credit card issuer to automatically deduct payments from your checking account on a certain date.

So if you choose autopay, you can often opt to pay the full amount each month to avoid paying interest.

One caveat of autopay is that you must have sufficient funds in your bank account for this method to work. If you don’t, you may incur additional fees — an overdraft fee and/or a late fee if your payment doesn’t go through.

Want to try to ensure you have enough funds in your account? Try setting the autopay date for shortly after pay day. In addition, you may want to create a habit of checking your account balances regularly so you always have an idea of how much is in your account.

2. Set up reminders

Consider setting up calendar reminders and signing up for online alerts. For example, I’ve scheduled all of my payment due dates in my online calendar as a recurring meeting. The calendar syncs with my mobile phone, so wherever I am, I have access to the reminder.

In addition, I’ve signed up for online alerts so that I receive an email from my credit card company five days before each due date. Once I see those reminders, I log into my account and make a payment for the total balance.

3. Make weekly payments

Even though rent payments are typically due once a month, this timeframe could potentially lead to a cash flow issue. After charging items on your credit card for nearly a month, you may find it difficult to pay rent in full. This could potentially lead to a late payment.

For example, it’s easy to charge items on your credit card, even if you don’t have the cash now, but you know you’ll have it later. But if you want to avoid debt, you should try to only spend the money you actually have now.

To help you stay on budget and pay your bill on time, consider making weekly payments to help with your cash flow and avoid any late payments or additional late fees. You may be inclined to spend less when you make weekly payments and monitor your cash flow.

4. Contact your landlord

If you’ve missed your payment’s due date, the first thing you should do is make the payment and then contact your landlord, you’ll want to act quickly in order to remedy the situation.

If it’s your first time missing a payment and you’ve been a good tenant for a while, ask your landlord to waive their late fee. It doesn’t hurt to ask, and you may be surprised by the outcome.

If this isn’t the first time you’ve missed a payment, it may be time to sign up for autopay or stop using credit cards until your balance is paid off and you find a system that works for you.

Bottom line

Making a late payment is more than just annoying — it could also seriously affect your credit scores. In order to avoid late payments, consider using these steps to ensure you make all of your payments on time. And if you do miss a payment, call your landlord immediately and take steps to try to ensure you don’t do it again.