If you think that you’ll be more than thirty days late on a payment, the best thing that you can do is to contact your lender immediately. It's often very likely that you can work out an arrangement if you let the lender know as soon as possible. Lenders appreciate a proactive attitude toward your obligations. In addition, it’s just the right thing to do.

No, they can’t. But you must still be cautious. A debt is considered "late" for credit-reporting purposes only if it's at least 30 days overdue. However, some lenders will begin charging late fees if you are even one day late. Read the fine print of all of your documents.

For mortgage payments, lenders typically provide a grace period because checks may be delayed in the mail and payment days may fall on weekends or holidays. It’s still best, however, to pay on time, if not earlier.