How to manage Your Auto Loan Payments Well?

Calamities come unnoticed; whether it is a heath emergency, a death of a family member or your job loss. Even missing your auto loan payments can be a financial calamity if you do not keep a check. With different due dates for every payment, you may tend to forget the billing cycle and miss out on monthly payments. You may intend to make your auto loan payment on time but sometimes, life gets in the way. Fret not; there are numerous ways to manage your auto loan payments so that you do not miss out on any one of them.

Auto Loan Payments: Proactive Measures That Will Take You a Long Way

Nothing is impossible and if you take the correct proactive steps, you can avoid mayhem. Follow these steps when you feel you might miss an auto loan payment.

1. Contact Your Lender

Usually, a dealer or a lender will not want to lose out on a customer or incur a missed payment. When you feel that you might miss out on a monthly payment, ask your lender for the possible solutions. Once you discuss the situation with him, you can mutually decide to defer the missed payment towards the end of the auto loan term. You can modify a few terms that give you the ease to make a timely payment or change the date of the payment. The more clarity you bring into the deal, the better it will play out eventually.

2. Sign up for An Auto-Pay System

An effective way to remove the burden of making payments on a certain date is to enroll for auto-pay or recurring payment systems. Many lenders and dealers even provide additional discounts on your interest rates for using an automatic payment system as it instills creditworthiness in their minds. Once you set up auto-pay system for your loan, you know that the auto loan monthly payment will be deducted on a regular basis and all you have to do is maintain your account balance.

3. Pay Ahead of Schedule

You know the date of your auto loan payment and if you have the money, you can pay early. Make sure that you ask your lender about any early payment charges or penalties and if there isn’t any penalty, you are good to go. Additionally, if you have saved up a certain amount of your income that you will not be needing in the near future, you can use it as extra payment towards your car loan. Paying early is a great way of eliminating any late payments and getting rid of your debt sooner.

4. Refinance your Loan

A great way to minimize your late payments or managing your loan better is to refinance your current auto loan. You can pay a good amount of money upfront and obtain lower monthly payments. Refinancing your auto loan will be possible on the basis of your current income and credit score. It is not necessary to get your auto loan refinanced by the same lender. You can shop around various banks, credit unions, lenders and online auto financing companies who are willing to give you attractive interest rates.

Act Before it is Late (Payment)

You can always be one step ahead and avoid crushing your credit score because of missed payments or delayed auto loan payments. Usually, your lender or auto financing company will email you 21 days prior to your auto loan due date. Put reminders in your phone for an auto loan payment so that you do not take it for granted and miss paying the amount. Therefore, acting beforehand to manage your auto loan will save you many hassles and secure your credit score in the long run.