HasPets wrote:
This might be a silly question; but if I don't ask, I'll never know. And if it's already been explained, please help me find the answer. I've been trying to pay down three credit cards. And my plan is going fairly well, except when I make an "honest mistake" in my plan. I bought two items from QVC on their Easy Pay plan, charged to my Juniper Card (stmt. closing Dec 18, pmt due Jan 12, '08). I had intended the charges to go to my checking acct. debit card, but forgot that the last account used QVC had on file was my Juniper credit card. I've already deducted those two amounts from checkbook register so the cash is in my checking account. Should I pay the money to Juniper NOW or WAIT until the payment date and add the amount to my min pmt amount? Not the worst situation to be in, I realize - but if larger amounts were involved I'd like to have the answer in case this happens again. My next step is to go to QVC website and delete the credit card info and leave only my checking debit card info.
Do you need to have the credit available for other purchases? If so, then pay it now.
Did you pay your "New Balance" in full last month? If not, then you are accruing interest with no grace period, so you should pay it ASAP.
Do you care if the balance is reported to CRAs? If so, then pay it before the next time the card reports.
If you paid your last statement in full, then it doesn't matter when you pay it, as long as your balance is paid in full before the statement due date of the statement the charges appear on (to avoid interest charges).
Having said that, if you have the cash sitting around to pay it (since you intended to pay cash in the first place), why not just pay it now so you won't forget?
