30 Days or Less

If you want to protect your credit score, relying on a 30 day wait period could hurt you when you least expect it. While it’s true that some lenders will give you some time to make good on your payments, not all of them wait until reporting them to credit bureaus.

Lenders for revolving accounts such as credit cards could give you up to 30 days, but non-revolving accounts such as car loans and student loans will report late payments sooner.

The best thing you can do is try to pay as early as possible, and don’t rely on waiting periods!

Size Matters, Sort Of

Some people wrongly believe that they can ignore some late payments for a while. But even a sum as small as 99 cents could put you in hot water if you forget about it. If you do forget about them or ignore them on purpose, the interest amount will increase, as will the amount you’re supposed to pay up.

And even if these don’t affect your credit score, some lenders who pull up your credit report will still see them, which is why it’s best to avoid these small nuisances at all costs.