It happens every year.  We hear from people in February or March who just found out they have a late payment on their credit report.  Followed by, “We were out of town and didn’t get the mail in time” or “I just missed it in all the other mail that piled up while we were gone”.  Yes, it can happen to anyone.  Yes, you can sometimes get the company to reverse the late fee.  And yes, there are steps you can take to be sure it doesn’t happen to you, thereby protecting your good credit score.

WHY IT MATTERS 
The largest factor in your credit score is your payment history.  Just one 30 day late payment can cause a significant drop in your score.  Generally, companies do not report late payments of a few days or weeks to the credit bureaus; only when an entire month’s payment was skipped does it show up on the credit report.

WHAT TO DO
If you are traveling during the holiday season, review your past three month’s bills to determine which bills are due on what date every month.  Then look at the current month to see which bills you have already paid.  You can then pay the bills that are due during your travel time BEFORE you leave.  It’s okay if they are early.  That is a much better alternative than having them be late.

NOTE: Be sure to have the post office hold your mail or have a trusted someone collect it every day to protect yourself from mail theft.

If you are not traveling, you still may want to get the monthly bill paying out of the way so that you can enjoy friends and family without having to take time out to deal with finances.  Getting out of our normal routine sometimes allows things to slip between the cracks and get missed.  Don’t let your credit score drop because of a missed bill.

For an in-depth, personal analysis of your credit and what you can do to increase your score, order your Credit Analysis today.