If you are receiving unsolicited phone calls from an entity pretending to be ACCC (a trusted non-profit credit counseling agency), please be assured that ACCC’s policy is NEVER to contact you unless you’ve explicitly requested us to call you. Also be cautious of emails from an unusual or unfamiliar domain. ACCC’s domain extension is @consumercredit.com, and any emails using a different extension should be treated with suspicion.

×

ACCC’s Client Login allows current clients to access their program information, including the due date, program benefits, and other documents.

Select a Client Login below based on the service that you are currently enrolled in:

Debt Management Program

Client Login

Bankruptcy

Pre-Bankruptcy Client

Post-Bankruptcy Client

Not yet a client, but looking to get started?

ACCC offers debt relief options to individuals and families that are suffering from stress related to credit card debt by providing effective credit counseling, helping to consolidate debt, and advising on debt management.

Get Started

Wait!

You are now leaving the Consumer Credit website and are going to a website that is not operated by ACCC. We are not responsible for the content or availability of linked sites.

Are you sure you want to leave?

No, return me to the previous page.

Yes

Follow ACCC's advice to avoid the lazy tax.

Save Money by Lowering Your Lazy Tax

October 21, 2011 Posted by suek 0

I just paid the public library back $35 in late fees. And I have a bunch of books out right now draining quarters out of my pocket in late fees as I type this. Have you ever over drafted because you forgot to transfer money from one account to another? How about paid a fee at the ATM because you forgot to get out money before you went out on a Saturday night? This can really bust your budget.

Friends, meet The Lazy Tax.

Follow ACCC's advice to avoid the lazy tax.

Follow ACCC’s advice to avoid the lazy tax.

When you pay extra money because you weren’t in the mood to do something small and productive, that’s the Lazy Tax. If you only look at one small fee it doesn’t seem too bad but, when you add up all the little expenses you pony up because of laziness, you might be a bit dismayed with yourself. I know I am. (I am right now shaking my head in shame). Plus, letting the lazy taxes add up is money that you could be using towards paying off debt.

Each person has their own set of lazy taxes they pay, so suggestion number one is my perennial favorite: AWARENESS.

Examples:

  • Create pop-up reminders on your calendar when library books are due (2 days before even).
  • Figure out how much your monthly bills cost you in total, then divide that number by the number of times you get paid each month. Next, deposit that amount into 1 checking account that’s only used for bills. (That ensures there will always be the right amount to withdraw for bill from that account). And finally SET UP AUTO-PAYMENTS on any amount that doesn’t change each month like student loan or car loan payments.
  • Automatically pay the minimum due on your credit cards each month (you can/should be paying more than this, but auto-paying the minimum makes sure that you won’t be hit with late fees and your interest rate won’t spike due to lateness).
  • Don’t use third party ATMs because they charge you fees to access your own money. Also,  it’s harder to tell if they’ve been tampered with by an identity thief. Yikers!

If you’re struggling to pay off debt, ACCC can help. Schedule a free credit counseling session with us today.

creditU

Say goodbye to the burden of debt

Struggling to manage your debt and improve your financial health is a thing of the past with the CreditU mobile app, an essential tool for anyone looking to manage their personal finances with ease.

CreditU Apple App Store CreditU Google Play
Dev Tool:

Request: blog/save-money-by-lowering-your-lazy-tax
Matched Rewrite Rule: blog/([^/]+)/?$
Matched Rewrite Query: post_type=post&name=save-money-by-lowering-your-lazy-tax
Loaded Template: single.php