To stay out of debt, we need to stay within our credit limit and make payments on time.
Late fees, punitive interest rates, over-limit fees, loading up your credit report with negative information—it’s enough to make you scream!
It’s not that your creditors are doing anything illegal. You just didn’t understand the power you gave them when you accepted that credit card (it was buried in the fine print). And now it seems like they’re staying up nights looking for new ways to stick it to you. If you’ve just about had enough, maybe it’s time for you to turn the tables and get back at them.
Pay Early
Nearly 30 percent of a credit card company’s profits are derived from fees—annual fees, late fees and over-limit fees. You'd think they would be pretty satisfied with all that interest you send them each month. But no. They want more. The days when issuers allowed 10 or 15 days for a payment to arrive after a due date before charging a fee are long gone. Now those fees kick in if you’re even five minutes late, and they can range from $20 to $39 per occurrence*.
