A good use for credit cards?

[enjoy the ride]

I do use my credit cards each month for the purpose of paying bills. Most of my utility bills and insurance bills are charged to my credit card and I pay the whole thing off when due to avoid finance charges.
I don't use debit cards because there is no legal protection against fraudulent use by others where there is protection on credit card use.
This saves me from making out numerous checks and mailing them each month. I just read the statements that come in the mail to see everything is OK. I have never had them be a problem so I don't know if it would be hard to correct the mistake . Since I've been doing this for years now, I do have some confidence in it.

This is handy but needs not to be abused by charging on whim and then not being able to pay off each month.

Since there was so much credit card negativity going on (with reason,) I thought I would mention it as a management tool.

 

[DrakeMaiden]

Oh, now see, I wasn't sure what this topic would be about and I was thinking . . . scraping the ice off my windshield when I don't have an ice scraper.

I have always used my credit card cautiously, but because our mail service is really bad at our new house, I am scared to death of missing a statment and not realizing it and then accumulating extra charges. Not worth it to me.

 

[Big Daddy]

Oh, now see, I wasn't sure what this topic would be about and I was thinking . . . scraping the ice off my windshield when I don't have an ice scraper.

I have always used my credit card cautiously, but because our mail service is really bad at our new house, I am scared to death of missing a statment and not realizing it and then accumulating extra charges. Not worth it to me.

All the credit card companies have on-line sites. They have a notification feature that you can customize. Tells you when your statement is available and if any charges are made and such. You can usually go paperless so there are no statement or those stupid checks they send you to be stolen from your mailbox. I use my credit card for auto billing. I don't like anybody auto billing my checking account. Just be sure you pay it in full each month.

 

[lorihadams]

My brother has been doing this for years...he puts everything on a credit card for the month and keeps a running tally of what he spends. He knows how much he makes a month and is sure to never go over what he cannot pay off in full. It has really improved his credit rating. We also use credit cards that have a 6 or 12mo no interest no payment deal and always charge what we know we can pay off. Our credit scores have gone from being in the 600s to the high 700s. It makes a difference when buying a car or a house, it can help establish you as a reliable and consistently responsible spender.

 

[patandchickens]

Oh, now see, I wasn't sure what this topic would be about and I was thinking . . . scraping the ice off my windshield when I don't have an ice scraper.

Me too! I mostly use them as glue applicators, scrapers to clean pots with burned-on residue (had a little problem with last night's ricotta batch, in fact, sigh) and cut up into shims to put behind door latch strike plates to correct failure-to-latch problems.

I admit I put most of my purchases on plastic but we pay it off at the end of the month without fail. Whereas getting cash here is very inconvenient, especially with small children in tow. We direct pay our recurring monthly bills out of the bank account so no need for credit cards for that.

Pat

 

[miss_thenorth]

I don't often carry cash with me, I also don't spend much. I use my debit for groceries, and dh and I use the credit card only for gas for the vehicles. He drives two hours total for work, so he fills up every other day when he is working. (It will be less now that he is driving the diesel, but,) he always uses the credit card for gas. It saves time. b/c he doesn't have to run into the store to pay--you can isnsert the card at the pump. We always pay off the entire thing every month. The thing is credit cards are soo easy to abuse--cuz the credit is there. Our card also gives you points for every dollar spent. I got a new TV for "free" with the points that we had accumulated, so that is a bonus too. The key is to not spend more than you can pay off when the bill comes in, and always to pay it off in full every month. Credit cards can be useful if not abused.

 

[me&thegals]

We put nearly everything on our card. We only have one. It is paid off every single month. We are so much in the habit of only buying what we need, that there truly are no splurges just because it's on the card. Plus, it really is easy to track our expenses and categories through the statement each month, there is no yearly fee and we earn a couple free plane tickets every few years

 

[breconbcs]

We learned the hard way about credit cards and are slowly being able to pay more than minimum on them. For the longest time they (we have 2) were in the freezer so we couldn't use them at all. But with this job I put all my gas on a credit card and then go home at night or in the morning if I know I need gas and I pay it right there and then through the online banking. I do the same thing when I want to buy something on eBay, money goes on before or when I bid depending on the closing date of the auction - it takes 3 days at most for the money to be on the card.
We decided to use and think of the credit cards the way we do cash - if we don't have it, we don't spend it. So unless I can put the money back on it the same day, we don't use it. It's helping us to bring down the original balance while at the same time helping to improve our credit.

 

[me&thegals]

Exactly. We think of it like a checking account. We can check the balance online, so there are no surprises. Plus, our spending is usually pretty steady, same old gas, food, chicken feed.

 

[inchworm]

I use the credit card for virtually everything. I deduct credit purchases from my checking account register so the amount is automatically set aside and ready for when the bill comes. My card also gives me cash rewards back. Every November I ask for my rebate to be sent. last year it was $410 and I set that rebate amount aside for Christmas presents. If you find a system that works for you, it can work really well.

inchy