Hi all, I need some help with credit card budgeting. Here’s a current outlook of my bills.
Rent: $0
Utilities: $0
Subscriptions: not sure guessing around $120
Car Insurance: I pay annually but broken down it’s about $230 a month
Loans: $190 (car loan)
I bring in about $1800 a month if I don’t miss any work. Between my bills I have about $1300 left.
I try to use my credit cards as much as possible because the protection is better, and I get cash back and rewards with them.
I use multiple cards for multiple different purposes, my question is, is there a way to look and manage between all my cards and see how much I’m spending? I know there are apps I can get, but I have to rely on it to sync and update, which it honestly never does. But if anyone has any tips on managing a budget between credit cards, please let me know. I keep going over, and then I spend my money paying it back and then the cycle just keeps repeating :(.
A spreadsheet to track your expenses. You log the expense when you swipe the card, not when your credit card bill is due. You cannot spend more than you earn in a month.
If you are carrying a balance month to month, then I agree with the other comment. Cut up some cards. If you are paying your balance in full monthly, then you just need to keep track of spending as it happens, and not as the bill is due.
@Vale
Luckily, not at the point where I’m carrying balances. But it definitely sucks overspending and having to pitch into the next check to make up for it because I don’t realize how much I spend until it’s too late. That’s a good idea. And it’s not that hard to do a spreadsheet. I can see what I spend in one place, which is what I want. I do have a spreadsheet that keeps tracks of my balances, but I don’t find it helpful. So maybe I should go with that approach instead.
I added to my spreadsheet a column for payment method. And my options are Visa Nov 11, Visa Dec 11. Because my cc statements happen mid-month, I started logging which transactions are on which statement (if I buy something Nov 11 it will be on the Oct 12-Nov 11 statement, but if I bought it Nov 12 it would be on the Nov 12-Dec 11 statement). Then I sum all of the transactions per statement so I can see the totals. For your payment method column you could easily list a bunch of options in your drop-down if you have multiple credit cards.
I currently do what you’re looking to do. We use 3 cards, all for their benefits, and pay them each month. Target for target purchases for 5% off. Amex for 6% grocery, 3% gas (I believe also subscriptions but our subs are under $4/mo). Capital one for 1.5% on everything else plus swap to this around Sept when grocery benefits max out on Amex.
I have a google spreadsheet that I made. It has a tab for each month and self-calculates to include the previous months in the YTD column. This helps keep me on track and see where I need to adjust.
@Brooke
I think I’m going to start tracking my purchases with a spreadsheet. I am not intentionally going over my budget, I just need a way to keep better track of what I’m spending so I don’t go over like I keep doing.
Protection is just as good on your debit cards at this point with a reputable bank.
I’d even argue that the 1-3% back you’re getting in rewards isn’t worth your overspending. You’re getting back what? $18-48 a month at most if you spend every cent of your take-home? That’s not worth the 25+% interest on what you’re not paying monthly on what you’re overspending. That hanging balance is a snowball when it happens regularly. Next thing you know you’re in real debt.
@Sam
Debit cards will never have the protection of a credit card company. Especially when you consider even if it’s just a few weeks delay of getting your money back—for too many people that means missed bills.
Now on the other hand, most people are horrible at budgeting and pay interest which defeats the purpose.
@Sam
They’re not at the point of paying interest. They’re trying to stop before it gets to that point.
Credit > Debit. All day, any day. Debit, if stolen, you have to hope for your money back. Credit you’re telling XYZ company “I’ll gladly pay you tomorrow for this hamburger I’ve eaten today.”