Bad Money Habits: Saving Bills To Pay Later
One of the bad money habits that I picked up from my dad was saving bills to pay later. The idea is to sit on the bills a long as I can and don’t pay them until a few days from the due date. The logic behind this is to keep money in the bank as long as possible.
It’s not a bad idea in principal, and in fact, many corporations run by really smart MBAs are doing exactly just that. But the reality is it’s a bad idea for normal folks like you and I…unlike the big corporations, we don’t have leverage.
Let’s take a look at this in more detail.
- Even the best savings accounts give you sub 2% interest rate. This means keeping $200 in the bank for another 15 days will translate to nothing more than a few pennies.
- One late fee could wipe out a decade worth of diligent “saving”.
- Enough late payments and your credit score can take a hit.
Fortunately, I was able to rid myself of that habit. Unfortunately, I am still unable to convince my dad that it’s a really bad idea.
Some good financial finds:
- Homeowner fighting ‘air’ property tax at Don’t Mess with Taxes — Funny, sad, and educational at the same time…definitely a good read.
- 4 Smooth Moves for Graduates at Wise Bread — Timely article and a good read for recent grads
- BP Logo Design Contest: Win $200 By Making A Statement at The Digerati Life — Nice round up of articles, but the gems are the funny BP logos.
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