Author Topic: I forgot to pay the rent today.  (Read 14017 times)

Adventine

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I forgot to pay the rent today.
« on: November 28, 2014, 09:58:30 AM »
Just what the title says. I, Adventine, practicing Mustachian, forgot today was the last banking day of the month, and so forgot to deposit the November rent payment in my landlord's bank account.

Damn. And I thought I had it together. 50-65% savings rate, no debt, automated investments, credit card and all other bills always paid in full. Before today, I had always made sure to pay the rent a few days in advance. It just... slipped my mind this month. And I'm mentally kicking myself for it.

I have a special arrangement with my landlady. She's a very nice and extremely generous person who has helped me in many ways in the past. I deposit my rent in the form of cash directly into her bank account because she prefers not to receive postdated checks or receive funds via electronic banking. I've already made arrangements with her to settle the rent in full first thing Monday morning.

I wasn't short on money. There weren't any long lines or technical glitches with the payment. I just plain forgot.

Well, lesson learned. I've never missed a bill payment in my life, and I tend to be very judgmental of people who do. But I guess I needed this lesson in humility.

NinetyFour

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Re: I forgot to pay the rent today.
« Reply #1 on: November 28, 2014, 10:04:26 AM »
Yep--things like that happen to most of us.

I recently had a hotel reservation, but then my plans changed and I didn't need it.  I forgot to cancel it.  Oops!  They charged me the full rate for the room.  Yikes.  After a plea from me, they refunded all but $50.  Less painful, but I'm still a bit mad at myself!

Cyanne

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Re: I forgot to pay the rent today.
« Reply #2 on: November 28, 2014, 10:06:06 AM »
Welcome to being human. We all make mistakes at one time or another. It's ggod that ypu have already made arrangements to make the payment on Monday.

Zikoris

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Re: I forgot to pay the rent today.
« Reply #3 on: November 28, 2014, 11:33:25 AM »
Ouch! I've been using post-dated cheques for about 8 years now and would have a hard time going back to remembering.

socaso

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Re: I forgot to pay the rent today.
« Reply #4 on: November 28, 2014, 12:11:17 PM »
We had an awful situation last year where one month two bills were for the exact same amount and my husband paid one and then got confused and thought he had paid both. The unpaid one was for an ER visit and they sent it straight to collections, no second notice or anything. I know we were wrong but it was an honest mistake and I couldn't believe they didn't send a second bill! This wasn't the first time we went to that ER and we paid them promptly in the past.

The_Captain

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Re: I forgot to pay the rent today.
« Reply #5 on: November 28, 2014, 12:15:23 PM »
Happens to the best of us. I've kicked myself before for paying like $0.80 in credit card interest before when I forgot to pay my credit card by a day every once in a while (I really need to set a reminder or something instead of doing it ad-hoc.) This is why for any recurring bill that's the same every month I have it auto-pay. I just don't have as many options for bills that change month to month (especially credit, which is entirely dependent on that month's expenses and is with a different bank so no auto-pay full balance)

Breaker

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Re: I forgot to pay the rent today.
« Reply #6 on: November 28, 2014, 01:28:05 PM »
Ah well, these things happen.

I have the same problem as The Captain with CCs.  What I have done is to set up an automatic payment for $45./$50 each month so that if I forget, I at least don't get dinged with a late charge.  Any interest I might have to pay is always less than an late charge.


Zikoris

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Re: I forgot to pay the rent today.
« Reply #7 on: November 28, 2014, 02:18:52 PM »
Happens to the best of us. I've kicked myself before for paying like $0.80 in credit card interest before when I forgot to pay my credit card by a day every once in a while (I really need to set a reminder or something instead of doing it ad-hoc.) This is why for any recurring bill that's the same every month I have it auto-pay. I just don't have as many options for bills that change month to month (especially credit, which is entirely dependent on that month's expenses and is with a different bank so no auto-pay full balance)

Our system for avoiding that is to just have two fixed dates a month (15th and last day) where we go through our credit card purchases line by line and each pay off our own items and half of joint items. It takes about 5 minutes and is actually kind of fun. I set up Mint reminders and everything.

Adventine

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Re: I forgot to pay the rent today.
« Reply #8 on: November 28, 2014, 06:27:59 PM »
Happens to the best of us. I've kicked myself before for paying like $0.80 in credit card interest before when I forgot to pay my credit card by a day every once in a while (I really need to set a reminder or something instead of doing it ad-hoc.) This is why for any recurring bill that's the same every month I have it auto-pay. I just don't have as many options for bills that change month to month (especially credit, which is entirely dependent on that month's expenses and is with a different bank so no auto-pay full balance)

Our system for avoiding that is to just have two fixed dates a month (15th and last day) where we go through our credit card purchases line by line and each pay off our own items and half of joint items. It takes about 5 minutes and is actually kind of fun. I set up Mint reminders and everything.
I set up email reminders to myself, and even had "Pay the rent on Nov. 27" on the To Do list I always keep on my phone. Wasn't enough, I guess. Maybe I'll set a "review all the bills" day every month, too.

Adventine

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Re: I forgot to pay the rent today.
« Reply #9 on: November 29, 2014, 10:54:43 AM »
Update: I just set up multiple email reminders, set to send themselves on the 22nd, 25th and 28th of every month, with the following messages:

On the 22nd: "Pay the rent!"
On the 25th: "Check if you paid the rent!"
On the 28th: "Check if you paid all critical bills and log all expenses [in your monthly spreadsheet!]!"

I'm also thinking about visual reminders that can jog my memory at the appropriate time every month. Refrigerator notes don't appeal to me very much because like to keep my condo uncluttered. I don't use paper planners or calendars for the same reason. Hmmm, have to think about it some more. Would love to hear about other people's strategies for keeping track of which bills have been paid and which ones are still pending.

NinetyFour

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Re: I forgot to pay the rent today.
« Reply #10 on: November 29, 2014, 11:00:50 AM »
I just set up Office Reminders on my laptop to check my credit card bills every second Saturday.  I wouldn't have done this were it not for this thread!  So thanks!

Adventine

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Re: I forgot to pay the rent today.
« Reply #11 on: November 29, 2014, 11:18:03 AM »
I'd never give anybody a postdated cheque because it's up to the bank to enforce the date, and they usually do not enforce it. In other words, somebody holding postdated cheques from you can deposit them all immediately, before the date on the cheques. Many banks will refuse to do anything for you in this scenario and will insist that you sue the person who improperly deposited the cheques, rather than the bank simply reversing the payments.
Well, postdated checks are how rent is usually paid in my part of the world. And I have seen local bank tellers outright refuse to process postdated checks before the date specified. Like I said, my landlady prefers I deposit cash directly into her bank account.

secondcor521

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Re: I forgot to pay the rent today.
« Reply #12 on: November 29, 2014, 12:02:24 PM »
Don't laugh, but...I use Quicken 2006 Deluxe.

It has the ability to schedule bills on any sort of schedule I need (weekly, one time, monthly, bi-annually, etc.).

It can use a fixed amount or can average the last X payments.

You can then have it automatically enter the transaction into your account or remind you that it is coming up X days in advance where you can set X.

Finally, for each payment it shows if it has been entered into your register or not, and also whether it has been reconciled or not (i.e., whether it has been received by the payee or not).

It can also project what your checking account balance will be into the future based on those scheduled payments.  (When savings accounts were paying more interest, I used to use this feature to move money back and forth as needed so my checking account balance would stay low but above zero and I would eek out a few more cents in interest.)

My personal system is to go in every payday and pay all the bills that are due before the next payday.

This approach is also very helpful if you do app-o-ramas (aka credit card bonus hacking).

Jags4186

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Re: I forgot to pay the rent today.
« Reply #13 on: November 29, 2014, 12:31:46 PM »

Ouch! I've been using post-dated cheques for about 8 years now and would have a hard time going back to remembering.

Be careful about using post dated checks banks do not have to honor the date on a check.

Zikoris

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Re: I forgot to pay the rent today.
« Reply #14 on: November 29, 2014, 12:40:17 PM »

Ouch! I've been using post-dated cheques for about 8 years now and would have a hard time going back to remembering.

Be careful about using post dated checks banks do not have to honor the date on a check.

I live in a housing co-op and am a signing officer for the co-op's bank accounts. The staff in charge of depositing rent cheques is hired by me and the other board members. We require members to provide post-dated cheques. If there were any problems due to incompetence of our office staff (depositing several cheques at once without authorization), someone would be getting fired really quick, and the co-op would certainly reimburse any bank fees.

Jags4186

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Re: I forgot to pay the rent today.
« Reply #15 on: November 29, 2014, 02:48:47 PM »


Ouch! I've been using post-dated cheques for about 8 years now and would have a hard time going back to remembering.

Be careful about using post dated checks banks do not have to honor the date on a check.

I live in a housing co-op and am a signing officer for the co-op's bank accounts. The staff in charge of depositing rent cheques is hired by me and the other board members. We require members to provide post-dated cheques. If there were any problems due to incompetence of our office staff (depositing several cheques at once without authorization), someone would be getting fired really quick, and the co-op would certainly reimburse any bank fees.

Don't disagree but just saying that in general post dated checks are not a "sure thing". Glad you have a great living arrangement!

Adventine

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Re: I forgot to pay the rent today.
« Reply #16 on: November 29, 2014, 07:29:08 PM »
Don't laugh, but...I use Quicken 2006 Deluxe.

It has the ability to schedule bills on any sort of schedule I need (weekly, one time, monthly, bi-annually, etc.).

It can use a fixed amount or can average the last X payments.

You can then have it automatically enter the transaction into your account or remind you that it is coming up X days in advance where you can set X.

Finally, for each payment it shows if it has been entered into your register or not, and also whether it has been reconciled or not (i.e., whether it has been received by the payee or not).

It can also project what your checking account balance will be into the future based on those scheduled payments.  (When savings accounts were paying more interest, I used to use this feature to move money back and forth as needed so my checking account balance would stay low but above zero and I would eek out a few more cents in interest.)

My personal system is to go in every payday and pay all the bills that are due before the next payday.

This approach is also very helpful if you do app-o-ramas (aka credit card bonus hacking).
Oh no, I'm not laughing at all! This is really useful info. I wonder though if there's a more recent version of Quicken just for Android phones, as I don't have a larger piece of tech than my phone (and don't plan on getting one any time soon).

gooki

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Re: I forgot to pay the rent today.
« Reply #17 on: November 29, 2014, 08:33:43 PM »
Just out of interest, why can't you setup an electronic payment from your account into there's? Sure your landlord may not want you to, but you have the details to set it up, and they may well be none the wiser.

Adventine

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Re: I forgot to pay the rent today.
« Reply #18 on: November 29, 2014, 11:18:19 PM »


Just out of interest, why can't you setup an electronic payment from your account into there's? Sure your landlord may not want you to, but you have the details to set it up, and they may well be none the wiser.

Basically because there are extra fees if I choose to transfer funds electronically from my bank to hers. I've been trying to optimize my life to eliminate those kinds of fees, which are basically charged for the sake of convenience. But now that this has happened to me, I'm weighing those extra fees vs. the advantages of making sure I pay the rent on time, and preserving a good relationship with my landlady.

MrsPete

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Re: I forgot to pay the rent today.
« Reply #19 on: November 30, 2014, 08:50:17 AM »
I can relate.  A couple months ago I didn't pay my credit card bill -- I either didn't get it, or somehow it went astray and fell out of "my system".  I'm really not sure.  Like you, I'm just not the type of person who doesn't pay the bills! 

However, at least it was a learning experience:  I've figured out a method to avoid this in the future.  You can do the same thing. 

gooki

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Re: I forgot to pay the rent today.
« Reply #20 on: November 30, 2014, 01:17:41 PM »
#banksinamericaaresobackwards

Over here you get charged fees for manual deposit (due to the labour cost for the bank), where as the electronic transfers are free with most bank accounts.

johnny847

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Re: I forgot to pay the rent today.
« Reply #21 on: November 30, 2014, 01:36:16 PM »
It happens to the best of us if you don't/can't set up automatic electronic payments. At least you're not in the position of not having money to pay rent.

Adventine

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Re: I forgot to pay the rent today.
« Reply #22 on: November 30, 2014, 04:25:45 PM »


#banksinamericaaresobackwards

Over here you get charged fees for manual deposit (due to the labour cost for the bank), where as the electronic transfers are free with most bank accounts.

Gooki, I live in the Philippines :) But yes, #banksaresobackward. I think the cost of the IT infrastructure is still more expensive than local human labor.

Adventine

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Re: I forgot to pay the rent today.
« Reply #23 on: November 30, 2014, 06:30:53 PM »
Another update! It's 9:20 a.m. Manila time, and I just paid the rent. It feels so good to finally get it done.

The unpaid rent was bothering me all weekend. Not just because I hate having unpaid bills and because I want to be financially responsible, but also because I really value my relationship with my landlady. So to make up for the late November rent, today I paid both the November and December rents, and left a box of pastries at her office, by way of apology.

It's not just a business relationship based on financial transactions. For many personal reasons too long to go into here, living in this condo gave me the opportunity to change my life for the better.

Now, back to devising better methods to keep track of all the critical bills...

Paul der Krake

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Re: I forgot to pay the rent today.
« Reply #24 on: November 30, 2014, 07:06:13 PM »
That's a fantastic way to show that you really took this to heart. I bet she must love having you as a tenant.

I have an awful memory and would rather have the computer do the work for me, so I use calendar software alerts like they're going out of style. Quarterly investment reviews, monthly bill paying, writing perfectly timed thank you notes, doing the vacuum cleaner's maintenance twice a year, and a bazillion other things I would never remember to do. It's all in there.

FiveSigmas

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Re: I forgot to pay the rent today.
« Reply #25 on: December 01, 2014, 12:43:57 AM »
Yay! I'm sure you feel much better knowing things are back to rights. I can totally empathize with the late-payment thing. I've missed a payment for stupid reasons, too (credit card expiring and neglecting to update all accounts). What's more, this actually happened more than once. I was so angry with myself! Plus, it was really hard to put it out of my mind until I was able to get it resolved. On the other hand, I've also been on the other side of things -- my tenant was once a bit late for similar stupid reasons. I was actually slightly relieved to find out that other smart, responsible people make mistakes, too. And no harm was done.

More generally, I'm trying to teach myself a bigger lesson: when I make mistakes, I fight the urge to stress about them. Seriously, stress can and will cause damage to one's health and one's relationships. It also doesn't redeem any of one's "failures." Instead, I try and correct the issue at the earliest possible time and take steps to minimize the chance it will happen again. I like your strategy of setting email reminders, and I think it also helps in cases where I can't do anything about the problem immediately (if it's, say, a weekend). Often, just knowing that I'll be reminded to fix the problem when I can actually do something about it helps me switch my mind over to other more productive things *.

* Credit to David Allen of "Getting Things Done" fame for this trick.

Adventine

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Re: I forgot to pay the rent today.
« Reply #26 on: December 01, 2014, 05:55:24 AM »
That's a fantastic way to show that you really took this to heart. I bet she must love having you as a tenant.

I have an awful memory and would rather have the computer do the work for me, so I use calendar software alerts like they're going out of style. Quarterly investment reviews, monthly bill paying, writing perfectly timed thank you notes, doing the vacuum cleaner's maintenance twice a year, and a bazillion other things I would never remember to do. It's all in there.

Thank you very much! It's nice hearing that, especially since, if I remember correctly, you're a landlord yourself. Right now I'd be happy if she still thinks of me as a "reliable" tenant at the very least.

Thanks as well to all the other posters for their encouragement and tips. I'm still working on refining my bill reminder system, but right now I'm definitely going to do email reminders and a handwritten checklist on my bedside drawer.

NinetyFour

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Re: I forgot to pay the rent today.
« Reply #27 on: December 01, 2014, 08:11:02 AM »
I have an Office Reminder on my screen right now that is telling me to check my credit card balances and due dates.  Off to do just that right now!

gooki

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Re: I forgot to pay the rent today.
« Reply #28 on: December 01, 2014, 11:43:37 PM »
I have to remember not everyone here is in America.

PS, thanks for posting this as well, it reminded me to sort out my house insurance bill that was due today. Although it is paid automatically I lost my credit card earlier this year, and never updated the new number with the insurance company.

Beric01

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Re: I forgot to pay the rent today.
« Reply #29 on: December 01, 2014, 11:47:26 PM »
I get an invoice in my mailbox at the end of every month. It's the only way I remember. They don't do auto payments or credit cards, so in-person check is the only way to do it.

Chranstronaut

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Re: I forgot to pay the rent today.
« Reply #30 on: December 04, 2014, 04:32:16 PM »
Aww, Adventine!  You are too sweet!  If you treat your landlady this well, I'm sure she appreciates renting to you, and understands when mistakes happen.  If/when you move to another place, I hope she can be a good reference for you.

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Re: I forgot to pay the rent today.
« Reply #31 on: December 04, 2014, 04:51:05 PM »
What on earth are bank dated checks?? I know what checks are, but have never owned a checkbook  - it's basically nothing I've ever needed to own because of electronic transfers, cash or direct deposits.

Adventine

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Re: I forgot to pay the rent today.
« Reply #32 on: December 04, 2014, 07:55:57 PM »
Thanks, all!

Post-dated checks are checks with future dates on them. Basically you can only encash or deposit them on the dates specified on the check. The way a one-year lease usually works in my part of the world, the renter hands over twelve post-dated checks to the landlord, one for each month of the contract. So the checks would be dated Jan. 15, Feb. 15, Mar. 15, and so on. And the landlord would only be able to encash/deposit them on those future dates. Local banks are fortunately very strict about following the dates on the checks, to avoid greedy landlords from encashing all twelve checks at a single time.

eyePod

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Re: I forgot to pay the rent today.
« Reply #33 on: December 05, 2014, 10:01:20 AM »
Sucks that you can't use your bank. PNC lets you pay through checks/electronic transfer through their system. I generally plan it a month out for mortgage payments. That way I can have it go the Monday of the last week of the month.

My stupid one was forgetting to change the bank account from one that I don't want or use (they give you 3, a checking, a special checking, and a savings. The special one is unused by me). I did it twice within a 3 month period and ended up getting two $30 charges. The first was waived but they coudln't waive the second. I was more pissed about the fact that the unused account was the default choice! It's like they're trying to get me to f up.

Anywho, sucks but good thing she's not charging you anything.