People Are Missing Monthly Payments…Because They Forgot
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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Here's your Money Briefing for Wednesday, July 20th. I'm J.R.
How common is forgetting monthly payments and who is affected?
Whelan for The Wall Street Journal. You've heard us talk on the show before about how financial hardship causes some people to miss their monthly payments, things like their credit card or their car loan. But more people these days are missing payments simply because they forgot.
There's been multiple surveys showing that people are feeling more stressed about their finances. And this increased forgetfulness is just an offshoot of that stress.
Our personal finance reporter, Veronica Dagger, has been looking into why people are forgetting about their bills and steps you can take to get back on track. We'll talk with her about that after the break.
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Why are people forgetting bills more often now according to surveys and banks?
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Most Americans know when their monthly bills are due, and yet more people are forgetting to make their payments. So why is that happening, and what can you do to get back on track? WSJ personal finance reporter Veronica Dagger looked into this, and she joins us with more. Hey, Veronica, thanks for being with us.
Thanks for having me, JR.
So, Veronica, how widespread is this problem of people forgetting to pay their bills?
You know, it's becoming an increasingly bigger problem just because people are so busy. There's so much going on in the world right now, whether it's the latest headline of bad news mixed with things like higher prices and just so many things to distract us right now, capturing our attention and taking us away from the key things we need to do, like paying our rent on time or paying that credit card bill on time. For example, there's a recent study by WalletHub, and it talks about people are forgetting as the top reason they would miss a credit card payment this year. Financial shortfalls was the second most popular reason, but I was just so interested to hear that forgetting about it was the most popular reason.
We're also hearing this from the big banks like JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo. They're saying that credit card customers are slightly more delinquent than usual in their payments. They're also seeing this with auto loans, too.
Okay, but is it just paying their bills that people are forgetting to do?
Are people forgetting only bills or other financial tasks too?
It's not just bills. It's things like forgetting meetings with their financial advisor. I had several advisors tell me that, you know what, I had this meeting scheduled with this person and they forgot again and we rescheduled and they forgot. All these other things in terms of their day-to-day life that they're forgetting hurt some people paying the rent. So yes, there's a lot of bills, but there's other activities such as long-term planning. For example, estate planning or whether that's writing your will or selecting guardianship for your child in case something was ever to happen to you. And one of the behavioral finance experts I was speaking to said, forgetting to meet with a financial planner or do things like rebalancing your portfolio, things that you know you need to do, that procrastination is a sign of stress.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–0:39
2
How common is forgetting monthly payments and who is affected?
0:39–1:38
3
Why are people forgetting bills more often now according to surveys and banks?
1:38–3:14
4
Are people forgetting only bills or other financial tasks too?
3:14–4:43
5
What financial consequences can missed payments from forgetfulness cause?
4:43–6:17
6
What behavioral-economics reasons explain why people forget to pay bills?
6:17–7:28
7
What simple habits and anchoring tricks can prevent forgotten payments?
7:28–8:52
8
How can scheduling, prioritizing and accountability help you stay on top of bills?
8:52–9:33
Speakers
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