This month I have the dreaded bank overdraft because two of my utility bills had automatic payments that hit my checking account at the same time. But I usually use that bank account to pay my credit card. Since most credit card companies only accept payment via a bank account, ow do you pay them when you bank account is overdrawn? Do you have multiple bank accounts or do you get some kind of prepaid Bluebird account thingy? The workaround that I'm temporarily using is that I got a free Ally account and linked it to Paypal and I'm paying my credit card this month with the Ally account. It would be a lot faster and easier if I could actually just use Paypal to make my credit card payment and I think it's kind of silly that you can use a credit card to fund a Paypal account but you can't use a Paypal account to make your credit card payment.
I would suggest budgeting better. You should never be in the position to where you need to go into overdraft to cover an expense. This tells me you need to save more money so that you'll always have enough cash to cover your expenses. I'm not judging, just speaking the truth. As a society we use debt as a crutch way too often.
I never knew that you could use Ally to pay for a credit card payment. I don't have an Ally account, but now I am thinking about getting one for this. I had a payment due today and was in a similar situation. I had funds on my credit card, but nothing in my bank. I did a transfer and put money into my paypal and then put it into my bank. I am tired of these workarounds, but thought I should mention it in case anyone else in a bind would need to use it.
I never even heard of Ally, what is it and how does it work? We all get in tough situations sometimes, so every little bit helps. Thanks
Hi ~ I think the best thing to do is to call your credit card company and ask, You could purchase a money order and mail it it in via snail mail. Also, if it is a Discover Card, you can go to any local Sears store and make a payment. (Or at least back in 1998-2001 you could), I used to do that all the time. I too suggest that you try to budget better. However, we all make mistakes and don't beat yourself up on this. You could also try to get some quick cash by donating plasma, if you are up to it. Good Luck.
To those who are telling me to budget better, I am a single mother supporting a kid on my income alone, so I do budget extremely well and don't buy anything extra or frivolous. But thanks for making assumptions about me and talking smack about me rather than answering my actual question. For those who need the info., I found out that if your Walmart credit card payment is due, you can pay it in cash at a Walmart store. And if your Bank of America credit card is due, you can pay it in cash at a bank branch.
I understand what you are saying i have found myself in the same position, i have been reduced to half pay at work because i am off sick with a serious heart condition. There was no way i could have budgeted for that it came completely out of the blue. I realise how hard and stressful it is to manage on a limited income through no fault of your own. I'm not sure how much help i can be as i am in the UK and we don't have the same credit facilities but what i have done is contact my credit card company explaining my situation and informing them i will have difficulty meeting my repayments. They have sent me a budget sheet for me to list my income and outgoings so a manageable repayment plan can be worked out. That may be a good plan for you if the situation continues but hopefully your problem is just a one off.
As long as you have the money to get the bill paid there is always a work around the bank account. I've had this problem before and my solution was to create a system by setting reminders a week before the actual due dates that are auto deducted from my bank account. Whether your mobile phone alert, PC reminders, or a paper calender to glance at are all good methods to do this. Knowing ahead of time gives you a chance to transfer monies to cover expenses to avoid overdraft fees. I hope this helps for future reference.
First & foremost kill the automatic payments & find a better way to remind yourself. Other than that I've never experienced a company that will not accept cold hard cash. As long as you have the bill number you can go to any Currency Exchange & make a payment there. That or taking the bill directly to the company & paying directly avoiding the Currency Exchange fee.
This probably isn't ideal for a lot of people, or even for people that don't have to worry about money but I don't have any bills at all coming out of my bank account directly. When I get a bill, either by post or online then I ring up and pay it by debit card if and when I can afford it. I want to be in control of exactly how much is in my account and who gets their hands on it. Its obviously more convenient to have all these payments set up automatically but that also means your not in control of your money anymore. Like I said if you have nothing to worry about with money then that's fine but that's not me.
Paypal has a mastercard that can be used to pay your bills. It does help to have reminders to make sure you have the money in the account or in the right account when you need to pay the bill or have the cash on hand to go to the store and pay the bill.
Things have seemed to have come full circle. It used to be that direct payments and standing orders were the main way to pay bills, now though I think a lot of people prefer to use cash and pay on demand rather than electronically, people feel more in control of their accounts when it's them who are deciding who, what and when to pay.
Some credit card companies will also allow you to wire the money to them via Western Union, but I am not sure if that is an option with your exact card. I have a personal and business checking account, so I would just pay from the one that is not overdrawn if I had that issue. You could open a second checking account for the future as a safety net.
