No one cares, really. As long as you have a spare $1,200.

Who would possibly pay that?

You could, if you're one day late on some payments.

Gary, a 23-year-old student, was one day late when he paid his first of twelve payments on his new laptop. He'd gotten a great deal, too: a $2,300 machine for 1100 bucks.

But he didn't remember to read the fine print of his contract. Who reads that anyway?

Gary was one day late making his payment, but made the remaining 11 payments right on time. He figured he'd paid off his laptop.

But the monthly bills from the computer company kept coming.

What Happened?

He called the computer company. Because he was just one little day late on the first payment, the fine print in his contract said the discount price of $1,100 for the computer was cancelled. The full price of $2,300 had to be paid.

That's $1,200 down the drain.

How hard do you work for $1,200?

Would it bother you to throw away this much money? Don't let this happen to you.

• Pay attention to the terms when you buy something with payments. Actually read all that fine print in the contract. Here's a trick: some companies actually make the fine print harder to understand on purpose. Why? They don't want you to pay on time.

• Never make payments on the last day they are due. Here's a trick some companies play: they say your payment is due on a certain day, but they don't tell you the payment is due in the morning or by noon, while their mail delivery may be in the afternoon.

• Protect your credit! One day late on a payment costs you money. But thirty days late on a single payment can impact your credit for years.