On-time payments without willpower

The CFPB's first piece of advice is to pay your loans on time, every time, and suggests automatic payments or reminders to help. Treat that as a design problem, not a character test.

Set it up once

• Autopay the minimum on every account. It protects your record if a month goes sideways.
• Pay the rest by hand if you like. Autopay for the minimum, a reminder for the full balance.
• Put due dates in one place. One calendar, one list.
• Match due dates to payday where a lender lets you choose.

Check that it still works

Autopay stops quietly when a card expires or a bank account changes. Once a month, as part of the check-in, confirm that each payment went through.

If you miss one

Pay it as soon as you can and keep paying on time after. If a late payment shows on a report that you did not actually miss, see what to do when something looks wrong.