I’m not the most organized person in the world, though I’ve been working on it as best as I can. The funny thing is, I like things to be systematic and like things to be in order, but somehow, I still fall short sometimes, and I end up with a couple of missed bills and a debt collection warning.

But so far, I’ve managed to weasel my way out of any penalties or negative effects on my credit. I suppose some sweet-talking doesn’t hurt, but in all seriousness, when I do get a debt collection notice, here’s what I do:

#1 I don’t call the debt collection agency. I call the creditors directly and make my inquiries to them.

#2 To the company whom I owe money to, I let them know my bill is in collections, then I give a reasonable excuse for this unfortunate eventuality. They’re usually pretty forgiving (even with the “dog ate my payment” excuse) because they really just want to resolve the situation and get paid pronto!