The Chronic Consumer

I’ve mentioned many times before that I like to collect watches. The thing is, with so many other items that I have to spend my money on these days (such as home improvement, school supplies for my son, and general living expenses), I haven’t had a chance to add to my collection in a long time.

So today I was browsing through some websites in the hopes of finding a cool new watch that I could start saving for and maybe purchase by Christmas. While I was looking I came across a site that sells discount Nautica watches, and thought the model pictured above looked pretty cool. I like square-faced watches, and the all-black color scheme looks very sharp, in my opinion.

Of course, this particular watch wouldn’t be for me, but my husband is starting to enjoy having a selection of timepieces to choose from on a daily basis. I was thinking about buying it for him as a surprise birthday present. I know he would like it, so I’m going to start saving for it now!

At an online message board that I frequent, there was a recent discussion about unfair billing practices by some store and bank credit cards. Specifically, we were talking about the way these companies charge extra fees if you try to make online payments on the day your bill is due.

One example given was for a place called WomanWithin.com, which apparently used to be the Lane Bryant store card. Anyway, if you go to pay your WomanWithin bill, you have two options: schedule the payment for the next day at no charge, or pay today for a $10 fee. In other words, if you didn’t know that you had to schedule a payment, you’d get stuck paying either a $10 fee to get the payment processed on the same day or pay the associated late fees and/or interest charges.

What’s that all about? That means even if I’m ready, willing, and able to pay my bill on the day it’s due, I’d still have to cough up some sort of extra fee!

WomanWithin is not the only guilty party. Others mentioned include Chase credit cards, utility companies, and even the IRS’s online tax payment processor.

If you use a lot of different credit cards or payment methods when you shop, then it would be a good idea to review the fine print for each of them to see if you could be subject to late fees and penalties even if you try to pay on time. Otherwise, your accounts might end up in the hands of a few debt collection agencies before you know it!