I’m a debit card person who uses 4 checking accounts with 4 linked debit cards and a $0-based first-of-the-month budgeting style. For instance, I get paid 2 checks in October, and then I ‘release’ that money on November 1st to spend and pay bills in November. My checking accounts are: Staging Acct for paychecks and fixed bills, Flex Acct for irregular expenses like healthcare and annual subscriptions, Vacation Acct to save for trips, and Main Spending for everyday expenses. My partner and I are joining accounts, but she prefers credit cards. I’ve got around 14 credit cards myself but I’m not great with them. What do you suggest for a simple joint setup for irregular expenses like booking a $3k vacation or buying furniture? I want to use my debit cards linked to the Flex and Vacation Accts, but I worry about safety and missing out on points with credit cards. I love how debit gives me a quick view of my account balances without needing to do math. Should we go full debit or use designated credit cards? I’m looking to keep it simple and avoid overspending. Thanks for your help! By the way, I do my budgeting in Google Sheets—it works for my forecasting needs.
I feel you! We use a mix of both. My partner and I have a joint account for bills and fun stuff, but I keep my own debit card for personal expenses. It helps keep things clear.
Using credit cards for larger purchases can be smart, especially if you can pay them off right away. Plus, the points are nice! Just be careful with tracking.
We have a joint account for shared expenses and personal accounts for individual spending. It keeps things simple and organized. Plus, we can still earn points on our credit cards!
Maybe try a hybrid approach. Use the debit cards for everyday expenses and credit cards for bigger purchases like vacations or furniture. Just make sure to budget for the credit card payments.
Tracking in Google Sheets is awesome! I do the same. It’s flexible and you can customize it however you want. Just make sure you’re regularly updating it!