The number 1 mistake people make with Buy Now, Pay Later

Buy Now, Pay Later schemes have become more common lately, and like all things involving borrowed money, they come with risks. Missing a BNPL payment means paying late fees on top of what’s already owed - and if you’ve got BNPL with lots of providers who all have different payment dates, it’s easy to lose track and rack up multiple rounds of late fees.

Losing track of who gets paid when is the easiest, and often biggest, mistake people make with BNPL. It's crucial to stay organised and ensure that payments keep getting made, on time, or else those purchases will end up costing more than planned.

Here’s how to manage the mania of multiple due dates.

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1. Using a Calendar or Reminder System

Sometimes, the simplest solution is the best one. Using a calendar or reminder system like recurring Google Calendar reminders, or alarms set to go off on your phone, provide an instant notification to ensure that you make payments to the right BNPL provider. 

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2. Setting Up Automatic Payments

Some BNPL providers offer the option to set up automatic payments. If available and suitable for you, this can be a convenient way to ensure timely payments. Just remember to monitor your account balance to ensure sufficient funds are available when the payment is due. Otherwise, the payment may fail, and you could get stung with late fees (and/or overdraft fees from the bank).

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3. Ditch BNPL Altogether

No BNPL means no payment management. It might be worthwhile clearing what’s owed with one provider, then the next, and the next, until it's all gone. This can reduce the need for juggling. You could also try consolidating debt to wipe everything out at once and have to manage just the one loan.

While BNPL might seem tempting due to its apparent convenience, it’s crucial to remember that it’s still money. And like we always say, money is mahi - and in this case, the mahi is all about the right management.

How do you make sure you always tackle your BNPL payments?

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