How do you run your monthly finances ? - Page 9

AuntG · ‎03-09-2010

Cash, check or credit card. Balances paid off monthly.

shoesnbags · ‎03-10-2010

@gertrudecloset wrote:
Won't these "paid off credit cards each month" soon be cancelled? I mean the companies aren't making any money off of your spending habits (if you Pay it off each month). They make money by charging you interest and carrying a balance. Charge cards are better for closing your balance at the end of every month. Credit Card issuers expect you to carry a balance (at some point) in order to make money. Yes, they will close your account if they don't make any money off of you via interest and the APR.

Everyone knows this.

@gertrudecloset
I've been using credit cards and paying them off at the end of each month for over 40 years. Haven't paid any interest in all of that time, and no one has cancelled a card on me yet. So everyone doesn't know that, because it isn't true.

I'm also not sure what you're talking about when you mention "credit cards" vs "charge cards." To my mind, "charge card" is just an older name for credit cards - they're the same thing. There IS of course a difference between a credit card and a debit card, and I wondered if that's what you're talking about.

"Breathe in, breathe out, move on." Jimmy Buffett

gertrudecloset · ‎02-13-2021

@shoesnbags wrote:
@gertrudecloset wrote:
Won't these "paid off credit cards each month" soon be cancelled? I mean the companies aren't making any money off of your spending habits (if you Pay it off each month). They make money by charging you interest and carrying a balance. Charge cards are better for closing your balance at the end of every month. Credit Card issuers expect you to carry a balance (at some point) in order to make money. Yes, they will close your account if they don't make any money off of you via interest and the APR.

Everyone knows this.
@gertrudecloset wrote:
Won't these "paid off credit cards each month" soon be cancelled? I mean the companies aren't making any money off of your spending habits (if you Pay it off each month). They make money by charging you interest and carrying a balance. Charge cards are better for closing your balance at the end of every month. Credit Card issuers expect you to carry a balance (at some point) in order to make money. Yes, they will close your account if they don't make any money off of you via interest and the APR.

Everyone knows this.
@gertrudecloset
I've been using credit cards and paying them off at the end of each month for over 40 years. Haven't paid any interest in all of that time, and no one has cancelled a card on me yet. So everyone doesn't know that, because it isn't true.

I'm also not sure what you're talking about when you mention "credit cards" vs "charge cards." To my mind, "charge card" is just an older name for credit cards - they're the same thing. There IS of course a difference between a credit card and a debit card, and I wondered if that's what you're talking about.

@shoesnbagsI've been using credit cards and closing them for longer than you and I guarantee you, many people KNOW that your cards can be cancelled for many reasons. If it's not in the best interest of the issuer (bank) and the company Master Card, Visa, etc., they will chuck you and move on. They can close your account for many, many reasons and if they aren't making them any money in terms of paying interest rates they can and will chuck you. Forty, fifty, sixty years don't matter. These are private businesses and they don't have to extend credit to anyone that's not beneficial to them. This is not a matter of policy it's common sense.

The same is true for purchasing a car. If you have a good credit rating then the interest you pay for your loan is baked into the cost of your monthly payment. The same is with your house; your mortgage payment has interest involved. COMPANIES MAKE MONEY by charging consumers interest. The same holds true for credit card issuers (banks).

A Negative Mind ~ Will give you a Negative Life

DiAnne · ‎09-22-2010

@gertrudecloset

Most credit cards charge a fee to the seller also. It is only "borrowed money" if you charge more than you can afford. If you need to borrow money the worst deal you can get interest wise is a credit card. Store credit cards are often charging higher interest than even Visa or Mastercard. I don't know anyone who carries balances on credit cards except in an emergency.

77yangya · ‎06-21-2011

@Kachina624 wrote:
Now @skatting44 do you really think people are going to own up to some of your options? Ninety percent of posters always say the pay their cc balances in full at the end of each month. Nobody is going to admit to charging everything until their cards are maxed out.

NO! You are wrong. I pay my cc balance in FULL EVERY month. Why should I accrue all kinds of interest? What a waste! The one I use would just love it if I had a balance. That's NOT gonna happen. I DO believe you are right in saying most posters say this so because of the "crying wolf" syndome, I don't blame you if you did not believe me....

77yangya · ‎06-21-2011

@skatting44 wrote:
Well, that's up to the posters . For me it works that I pay off credit card balance each month . I learned a credit lesson when I was 19. I bought a recliner chair and a swivel chair as a gift to my Mother . I put it on credit at a store where I worked. When I figured out how much interest , I was paying . I decided to never buy that way again unless, I absolutely had to such as when I had major car repairs or needed big appliances unexpectedly . I manage my monthly account closely . I do have friends and family that spend alot and say they don't worry abt paying off their debit because they feel life is so short , so they enjoy themselves with whatever they want . I'm wondering if my appraoch to finances is to old fashion ?

NO. You're just mature and you had good parents that taught you well.

novamc1 · ‎07-02-2015

Posters have given some good info about how credit cards make money without charging cardholders any interest, because they do charge transaction fees to sellers each time a customer's card is swiped.

I seriously question why anyone would question people who say they pay their card bills off entirely every month. It has never been done any other way in our house. And we've never had any card canceled.

Why would a card company cancel the card of a user who is in good standing on their account and frequently uses the card?

Paying off the card monthly is part of the reason some people are able to save more money than others---They refuse to pay the exorbitant interest rates that card companies charge on outstanding balances.

novamc1 · ‎07-02-2015

There is a difference between the type of credit extended by retail stores ("get 10 percent off your first purchase if you apply for our credit card), and the type of cards issued by Visa, Mastercard or American Express.

Stores will cancel a card in a heartbeat if it's not used after one or a few purchases.

Financial advisors routinely advise against applying for those types of cards, for more than a few reasons.

Mom2Dogs · ‎03-09-2010

@Desertdi wrote:
This length of this thread continues to amaze me. Who cares how others pay their bills ?????

@Desertdi Probably because we are allowed to discuss very little on these boards and it's a new/different topic.

Carmie · ‎10-25-2010

@SeaMaiden wrote:
@songbird wrote:
Only own one credit card. I use it everywhere, mostly online. I always try to pay the full amount before the due date. So I'm usually ahead by a month. I do this just in case, but I've never had to wait. So far it's works pretty good for me. I always pay my credit card online. My husband has more bills then me, as he pays the utilities, gas & electric, water bill etc. My responsibility is the weekly food order. And the cable bill. So any other bills are for what I buy for myself. My husband and I have always, always have separate checking accounts. So we are responsible for our own bills.
@songbird I find that so odd...my DH and I married 41 years. We started out together in out early 20's with nothing... but love! Money was always our money....joint accounts...we both pay the bills....none of this her money his money business. Never could figure that out how people married have separate money? It is just OUR MONEY.

We have been married almost 48 years. I had a savings and checking account when we got married, my DH didn't. We got married right after his HS graduation.

I still have a seperate accounts from him. He has no idea how much money I have and he has never asked. It is not a secret and I don't hide anything. He pays some of the bills and I pay others.

I also still own a hair salon. I rent out space to hair stylists, so I have a business account as well.

I have taught my daughter to have a separate account from her DH and she does. She manages money better than hm. He spends money like water. He occasionaly bounces checks too.

Every women, IMO, should have her own credit and her own credit score, especially if her DH doesn't handle money well.

My credit score is higher than my husband's, but I don't know why. He does handle money well and knocks himself out to pay bills immediately. He pays by check and I pay online.