This reply would make @custommuffler proud lolwell you originally said you only use CC for big purchases and debit card for smaller ones ! i was trying to make the point of it doesn't matter if you pay for something from your right or left pocket it still comes out of your same pants . i mean it doesnt make a difference if you put $2000 a month on a CC and spend $1000 a month in cash you take $3000 a month out of your checking acct., same if you put $3000 a month on the CC or spend $3000 a month in cash. and as far as spending $200 a month more when using CC, find out who in the family is just going stupid and spending more and get them a prepaid CC and put X amount on it monthly, tell them if they spend it all thats it THERE AINT NO MORE, you can sit on the porch and twittle your thumbs cause you have no money for gas or whatever it is this month. our government is to blame for this shit teaching people there is no limit just keep spending. if you make $3000 a month and spend $4000 a month it's all good, i am lucky my mother taught me very early in life if you make $3000 a month you only spend $2000-$2500 a month and put $500-$1000 in savings. her teaching allowed me to retire at 55 with everything paid off and i didn't have a job making 2 or 300k a yr, not even 100k a yr . if it's the wife spending the 200 a month extra your screwed, if it's kids teach them a life lesson ( how to live within their means and not try to keep up with the Jones's). like Brandon saying were going to spend 3 trillion dollars and it's not going to cost a thing HOW THE FUCK CAN YOU SPEND IT AND IT NOT GOING TO COST YOU A THING and in the same breath that stupid fucker says were going to raise taxes here and there to pay for it, in the long run it will trickle down to you and me to pay for it. sorry didn't mean to take a right turn with this, DAMN now i got to go take my BP med's
I appreciate all the replies this is a smart group of people and I knew I would get good information here..we started today using the credit card for everyday purchases, my wife is on board with it as well.
There is definitely some mental differences for me using debit vs credit. One example is I had to fuel my jeep and normally I just put 20 bucks in at a time when I used my debit card. Well today I used a credit card and figured why not ill just fill up.
I still view credit as money owed so I don't think overspending will be an issue but time will tell.
There is definitely some mental differences for me using debit vs credit. One example is I had to fuel my jeep and normally I just put 20 bucks in at a time when I used my debit card. Well today I used a credit card and figured why not ill just fill up.
I still view credit as money owed so I don't think overspending will be an issue but time will tell.
well you originally said you only use CC for big purchases and debit card for smaller ones ! i was trying to make the point of it doesn't matter if you pay for something from your right or left pocket it still comes out of your same pants . i mean it doesnt make a difference if you put $2000 a month on a CC and spend $1000 a month in cash you take $3000 a month out of your checking acct., same if you put $3000 a month on the CC or spend $3000 a month in cash. and as far as spending $200 a month more when using CC, find out who in the family is just going stupid and spending more and get them a prepaid CC and put X amount on it monthly, tell them if they spend it all thats it THERE AINT NO MORE, you can sit on the porch and twittle your thumbs cause you have no money for gas or whatever it is this month. our government is to blame for this shit teaching people there is no limit just keep spending. if you make $3000 a month and spend $4000 a month it's all good, i am lucky my mother taught me very early in life if you make $3000 a month you only spend $2000-$2500 a month and put $500-$1000 in savings. her teaching allowed me to retire at 55 with everything paid off and i didn't have a job making 2 or 300k a yr, not even 100k a yr . if it's the wife spending the 200 a month extra your screwed, if it's kids teach them a life lesson ( how to live within their means and not try to keep up with the Jones's). like Brandon saying were going to spend 3 trillion dollars and it's not going to cost a thing HOW THE FUCK CAN YOU SPEND IT AND IT NOT GOING TO COST YOU A THING and in the same breath that stupid fucker says were going to raise taxes here and there to pay for it, in the long run it will trickle down to you and me to pay for it. sorry didn't mean to take a right turn with this, DAMN now i got to go take my BP med's
yeah I get that it's spent either way, that's not what I'm arguing.
No kids in the house old enough to have a card, so it's me and my wife going stupid - I think she gets looser in the grocery store and splurges on more snacks. It's not a conscious thing, it just happens. Like the article I linked, there's a subconscious thing going on with not feeling the pain of an unnecessary purchase when you don't actually have to pay for it for 4-6 weeks. Part of it may also having the checking account balance as a backstop instead of the CC limit. I only put what we will spend in that account, so once it's gone, it's gone, and overdraft is turned off so it won't transfer from another account or overdraw, it just declines the card.
I make plenty of money, so in any given month, $200 is not a big deal and it's definitely not putting us in a deficit spending situation; it's what that does to our savings goals in the long term that I don't like. We keep zero debt on depreciating assets, which means if we plan to replace a car in 3 years, there's a certain amount we need to be putting away to be prepared. If we don't keep up with that, then it pushes other goals farther out, like my wife wants an 80's Wagoneer and I want a 30x40 shop. And we like to go on vacations.
i hear ya ! that snack isle is my weakness too, those damn oreo's , cheese crackers and such can make me go over my budget too and then there's the BEER cooler 
can make me go over my budget too and then there's the BEER cooler
i hear ya ! that snack isle is my weakness too, those damn oreo's , cheese crackers and such
Yeah I forgot to mention my liquor store/brewery trips. I rarely pass up an opportunity for a limited batch barrel aged stout, pretty much never if it's a good base stout that doesn't need adjuncts to cover up any off flavors...I'll drop $45 on a 650mL bottle without blinking lol.
yea back in my drinkin days the old crown bill was 4-500 a month ! got a nice pay raise when i gave it up, but had a heart attack 2 weeks later !
i hear ya ! that snack isle is my weakness too, those damn oreo's , cheese crackers and such
I think the problem is that I make about 3.5x what I made 14 years ago and now it's harder to manage now than it was then. Back then, it was very black and white - either I had the money or I didn't, and if it wasn't a necessity, I usually didn't, and I was young and dumb enough to buy it anyway and racked up some debt in my early 20s that took several years to get out of. Now the money is available for pretty much anything accessible to normal people - just not all at once- so instead of a simple, objective yes or no, it's all gray area with a complicated web of timelines and prioritizations. I could send my LJ to blaine next week for a midarm build with custom axles and 40s, but I'd have to put the shop off for a while and maybe cut into the building budget for our house.
I will agree with this.... it's a great rewards card. And, if you have enough dough to qualify for Citigold or Private Client, Citi will also cover the cost of your annual Costco membership. You can have the Costco card (if you qualify) whether or not you have the Costco membership.
Be careful... some credit cards and debit cards will round up to the nearest $100 while the transaction is pending. Once it clears you will see the actual transaction amount.
yea I hear ya ! i was lucky and very disciplined when i was young, i guess having a German mother who was there when we were bombing the shit out of them taught me to always save for a rainy day no matter what because you dont know if you will have anything to eat for the next week or so. i'm pretty much a loner, hate whinny spoiled kids and live with 2 dogs. but I have a good friend who has 2 boys i have known since they were in car seats and are now in their early 20's, they have always been well behaved and respectful. we all love turkey hunting and they will come to my campsite most evenings and sit around the fire. as soon as they started working i ingrained in them to put atleast 10% away and if they got a raise bump it up every time so they dont mis it. at 19 i had the younger one buying stocks, i'm a daytrader and when he would see me make 2 or 3k in 15 minutes would say i want to do that. so i've tried to teach him and he's coming around and learning the in's and outs of trading. he started saving very early and will do fine life...
Bighammer
TJ Enthusiast
Air miles. Cash back. Purchase protection. Monthly statements. CC’s are the only way to go. NEVER use debit cards; none of the aforementioned things apply and a fraudulent transaction could wipe out your account.
One of my favorite perks as a business owner is the air miles and cash back. My wife and I have already used over a million air miles and we have over a million more on hand. If you don’t own a business it’s not nearly as beneficial, but it’s still a nice bonus that adds up every month.
One of my favorite perks as a business owner is the air miles and cash back. My wife and I have already used over a million air miles and we have over a million more on hand. If you don’t own a business it’s not nearly as beneficial, but it’s still a nice bonus that adds up every month.
Funny, guess I'm an outlier. I am 100% cash.
Ex ran up an $80K credit bill on the sly and I've been all cash ever since.
It's been fun watching people struggle to make change through the bullshit coin shortage.
My credit score is slowly rising but I like being all cash and hadn't planned to change till the 2% cash back notion was brought up.
I'll think about it.
Ex ran up an $80K credit bill on the sly and I've been all cash ever since.
It's been fun watching people struggle to make change through the bullshit coin shortage.
My credit score is slowly rising but I like being all cash and hadn't planned to change till the 2% cash back notion was brought up.
I'll think about it.
wow
I'd of kicked her so hard between the legs id of lost a shoe ! guess thats why I never got married 
I don't know if this has been touched on yet, but I just recently moved away from using a lucrative CC to pay for virtually everything until I heard Bidiot's infrastructure bill required all banks to report charges/transactions over $600 to the IRS in an effort to crack down on tax evasion. My $ is nobody's business but mine!! I don't know if that part stayed in it, but it's only a matter of time.
The same thing was in there for bank accounts, as far as I'm aware that was removed.
You can use a Discover credit card and get cash at the grocery store and some other merchants. It's not considered a cash advance and merely adds to your card balance. No additional fees.
Still better when Mrs App just gives me her cash.
A little late but I'll chime in too...
We use 2 major CC's: Amazon for online purchases and my American Express Gold for everything in person, plus any travel or large consumer purchases. Amazon card has great cash back incentives, even on non-Amazon stuff. The Amex has slightly less rewards but has hugh protections - everything from automatic travel insurance to taking a return on an item that a store wouldn't accept. It has saved us thousands of dollars over the ~14 years that I've had the card.
Like most of you, our cards get paid monthly. Despite our modestly-high salaries, my wife and I aren't "big spenders". There are months where we spend a few $100 to a few $1000 more than normal, but it all averages out as there are months when we buy next to nothing other than the bare necessities. We have dedicated savings accounts, plus health savings accounts, and retirement accounts, as well as long-term "high yield" savings accounts (I use that term loosely since the interest rate is garbage) for things like vehicle purchases and big house stuff. For us, thankfully, CC's are a "positive" financial tool and not a burden.
It's important to note that there isn't a one-size-fits-all approach to managing finances. Some people like the "feel" of handing out cash and it makes them more responsible "in the moment". My close friend is a pilot who makes well into the six-figures and he and his wife use the "envelope" method. The allocate certain money for certain things and even though they end up borrowing/spending money from one envelope for another, it helps them be more mindful of what is going out. For us, we like having all our purchases visible for a number of reasons. It helps us know where we typically spend money and our annual savings adjustments (after raise and bonus time) reflect actual spending habits rather than "wishful" habits.
We use 2 major CC's: Amazon for online purchases and my American Express Gold for everything in person, plus any travel or large consumer purchases. Amazon card has great cash back incentives, even on non-Amazon stuff. The Amex has slightly less rewards but has hugh protections - everything from automatic travel insurance to taking a return on an item that a store wouldn't accept. It has saved us thousands of dollars over the ~14 years that I've had the card.
Like most of you, our cards get paid monthly. Despite our modestly-high salaries, my wife and I aren't "big spenders". There are months where we spend a few $100 to a few $1000 more than normal, but it all averages out as there are months when we buy next to nothing other than the bare necessities. We have dedicated savings accounts, plus health savings accounts, and retirement accounts, as well as long-term "high yield" savings accounts (I use that term loosely since the interest rate is garbage) for things like vehicle purchases and big house stuff. For us, thankfully, CC's are a "positive" financial tool and not a burden.
It's important to note that there isn't a one-size-fits-all approach to managing finances. Some people like the "feel" of handing out cash and it makes them more responsible "in the moment". My close friend is a pilot who makes well into the six-figures and he and his wife use the "envelope" method. The allocate certain money for certain things and even though they end up borrowing/spending money from one envelope for another, it helps them be more mindful of what is going out. For us, we like having all our purchases visible for a number of reasons. It helps us know where we typically spend money and our annual savings adjustments (after raise and bonus time) reflect actual spending habits rather than "wishful" habits.