It is so easy to get overwhelmed today. Work is a constant source of stress in our lives. Traffic jams decrease our time at home and raise our blood pressure as highways turn into parking lots. We value whatever time we can get to decompress and be with our family, friends, or even just with ourselves. As soon as we have a moment, we want to escape our stressful world.

Unfortunately, the more you try to escape the worse you make it. As much as you may not want to do it, you have to pay bills. Putting it off is just going to make it worse and contribute to the greater stress you'll feel as you wonder if your payment is going to make it to the creditor or the utility on time. Whether it's your power company or your mortgage lender, they expect your payment by a certain date. It really is only fair. You knew the rules when you signed up.

You know the payment is expected and you have to make it, so why add to your stress by delaying the payment? Make the payment and send it in as soon as you can. As soon as you receive the bill is ideal. That way, you can at least know that your bills are in good standing and your credit rating will take no hits. As stressful as it might be to make the payment, it's nowhere near as stressful as damaging your good standing for any future purchases you might want to make.

When payments are late, creditors, even utility companies, have the right to charge you late fees. Some utilities charge a percentage of the outstanding balance. Some credit cards charge straightforward fees, but they will charge both a late payment fee and an outstanding balance fee. Once this happens, you may be classified as a risk and see your interest rates raise. If a utility payment is late enough, you may find yourself dealing with unpleasant collection calls and growing late charges. It's a downward spiral that your balances will rise as you fall farther behind.

Ask yourself why you are procrastinating and risking these types of penalties. In a lot of cases, people procrastinate not just because of the stress of making the payment but because they do not have a clear idea if they can afford it at that time. They are just waiting for the next paycheck to clear or are waiting to see if they can squeeze a few more miles out of their gas tank. If this is the case with you, then you need to take action quickly.

But if you are procrastinating because of the continual stress and distractions, keep in mind that there are ways to streamline payments. These options will help you to take just as much stress out of your life as making a complete and working budget.

You can have payments withdrawn automatically from your bank account. This will take the stress of writing a monthly check out of your life, and you will know that the payment will get there on time. It puts the responsibility back on the creditor to process everything in a timely fashion. However, even if you do this, it will still be important for you to monitor your statements and your checking account. As you have undoubtedly experienced first-hand, computers are just as capable of making mistakes as people are, and if you let a mistake go for too long you will face the same types of penalties and fees as if you had made the late payment yourself. That can all be avoided so long as you monitor your accounts.

Another option open to you is to contact your creditors and see if you can rearrange your due dates so that all of your payments fall within the same time of the month. There is no guarantee that a creditor will change a due date, but there is no penalty for asking.

Regardless of whether you take these extra measures to make payments easier, remember that procrastination is still your enemy. It only makes things worse and adds to your woes. If you are in a situation where you are juggling payments because you are having trouble making ends meet — then that is a whole other problem and one for which you should seek help.

6. Use Credit Sparingly

The credit card is a fine tool when used properly. It is a disastrous instrument if you're not careful. Many people make the choice to buy it now and think about paying for it later, only to find that when "later" comes, there is not enough money to pay for it all. Too many people have found out first-hand how the lifestyle they're living now will prove very costly in the future.

Don't live your life now by financing your future, when you have the ability to live within your means and save for a better life down the road. By extending yourself on credit you simply create a situation that will be increasingly difficult to escape. And as you look around at the compact discs, DVDs, figurines and other assorted things, you will realize that they are just that — things. Even that really cool "limited edition" commemorative trinket is just one more thing to place on the mantle.

It's really not that different than borrowing against a retirement plan. Each time you add to your credit balance, you are sacrificing more of your future paychecks. You are promising more and more of what you could be setting aside for a better vacation, better car or better retirement for that instant gratification of buying now and indulging a desire. While we all deserve to reward ourselves from time to time, credit makes it very easy to redefine "time to time" to "when we want."

Take a good, long look at that little plastic card. While it may be hard to visualize, it is a signed contract, your promise to repay, between you and a financial institution that they will let you borrow their money. If you do not pay it all back at once, you have made a further promise that you will pay back even more than you initially borrowed by paying back interest. Over time, as you add to the balance, you find yourself paying more interest on your borrowed money than the principal itself. It can then become many years before you are through with that obligation. It's a burden that more people have placed themselves into than is necessary, all in the name of maintaining an image and living a lifestyle that they can't really afford.

Credit should be used when you need to use it, and there are times when you do. Hotel and plane reservations require credit cards. Your car may break down and you need to have it towed. But when you decide to make that credit purchase, ask yourself if you are prepared to pay it off. If you are, how quickly? If you find yourself unable to plan for the extra expense, or unable to find room in your savings to pay for the purchase at all, maybe you need to wait until you can afford the room in your budget. You'll still be able to get that special thing, just not right now. And you won't be worried about how to pay for it later.