Part II: OUT of TOWN, OUT of LUCK? MANAGING INFORMATION In The AGE Of E-MAIL Being a college student means you are constantly on the go. To class, the library, study sessions, a part-time job, and late-nights, well, you know! The daily and weekly chaos of campus life reaches a crescendo by the end of the semester or academic quarter. "Things tend to disappear" and you may forget or postpone looking for them until after final exams. Exhaustion, whether due to academic stress or late night partying, has this effect on most people! And, with the submission of your last course project or "blue book" exam, your reward is a month off for the holidays and three months off for the summer. Amidst this confusion, your last bank statement has a way of joining forces with those "single" socks. To make matters worse, the forwarding of your mail by the U.S. Post Office could take weeks. Well, you get the picture. AND, believe us, so does the credit card industry. They rely on your end of semester "burn-out" for charging millions of dollars in late fees and over-limit penalties. In fact, with "real" interest rates of consumer credit cards at their profitable peak, the industry has been increasing revenues by raising over-limit and late payment fees while simultaneously reducing the "grace" period. That is, depending on the credit card company, it used to be that you were penalized with a late fee only when your payment was received from 3 to 10 days after the "due date" on your monthly statement. Today, to increase revenues, the grace period has been reduced to between 3-4 days and zero! So, the key is how to make sure that your monthly credit card payment is sent ON TIME in case you can't find your statement or it falls into the postal "Twilight Zone" of forwarded mail. This is especially important if you are traveling over the summer or enrolled in a study abroad program. On to Security discussion         Copyright Newtonian Finances Ltd. © 2000-2024 (disclaimer)