PAYING LATE
Some 21 percent of Americans have made a delinquent credit card payment at least once in their lives, according to NerdWallet. Just for one first-time late payment fee — $15 to $35 — that’s more than $1.4 billion in fees alone. Many just forget to make the payment (35 percent), while other need the money to pay for essentials (33 percent) or for an unexpected emergency (32 percent). Those late fees only get higher the more late payments you make, so watch yourself.