Year ago when I started this blog, I used my credit cards for nearly everything. Eventually I took a cue from a friend and I started using cash to buy consumable things I couldn’t return. This meant primarily dinners out, groceries and gas for my car. In making the switch to cash, I lost my ability to track my sending accurately. I have a Cash Account balance in Quicken sitting at $10K and I have no idea where it all went. I mean, I do. I probably bought little things, but I no longer feel like it’s a good idea for me to spend $40 here and there on stuff. I simply have lacked interest and discipline in logging entries daily into Quicken or even writing them in a little notebook.
I know I’m never going to get away from having cash. The Farmer’s Market opened two Sundays ago and I took my reusable shopping bag and cash. I spent $31 on ground lamb, vegetables, cheese and seedlings. But the $2 on coffee this morning, is easily forgotten.
I’m going back to using purely debit card & charge plate as much as I can. If you don’t know, a charge plate is not quite a credit card. It’s a credit card that is due in full every month. (Hello Green Amex!) It’s a good way to be disciplined. I only use credit cards for low-interest balance transfers. (That’s a life lesson I’ve learned in 4 years of blogging.)
What’s your m.o.? Do you use all plastic? All cash? A mix?
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I like to use credit cards for every purchase for the reward points and well as easier tracking. I carry $20 with me for instances where cc are not accepted, the vending machine or splitting a cost with co-workers. Usually doesn’t happen too often. I also pay my cc bill in full every month.
ooh thanks for defining charge plate – I didn’t know that and I think I made that pretty obvious with a comment I made a while ago!
I’ve just gotten fully out of debt (I’m a renter) and have been tracking my spending in a notebook for a couple of years now. I’m really interested to see if and how I change my system now that debt is totally out of the picture.
I use a credit card almost 100% of the time to get as many travel points as possible. If i spend $50 in cash a month i would be surprised. I pay off all my credit cards each month. I look at each purchase three ways. 1) Do I need it and if i do need it 2) what is the cheapest price i can get it for and 3) which credit card will i put it on. i have an airmiles card, an mbna travel card that gets me 2%, and an amex starwood hotel card. I manage to collect enough points each year for a nice trip to Asia or Hawaii. My monthly spending (for everything) is about $1,500. I don’t think most people realize that their spending is an “asset” and if they do it properly they can be rewarded quite well.
I found that I lost track of my spending when I used cash as well because of places where they were not able to give a receipt…or when i used vending machines. I use strictly credit cards that have no balance and I pay them off in full every month, so I earn rewards.
My actual budget splits the allowable amount into four payments and my credit card gets paid every Monday via ING. So if I budget $160 for food but only spend $125 the credit card still gets paid $40 every week so that way I never carry a balance.
I use my debit cards primarily. Or my green AMEX. I only use cash when cash is the only way to pay!
I use my credit card for almost everything. The things that can’t be paid for with credit, I used cash. I probably get out $100 every six weeks or so, sometimes more, sometimes less. I love racking up miles with my credit cards!
I either use my credit or debit card for my everyday purchase but one thing which has become part & parcel is to monitor allk transaction online too.