The Fishpond: Saving Money: Credit Cards

Monday, October 17, 2011

Saving Money: Credit Cards

Kind of a oxymoron I know. The other day I heard someone say credit cards were eating them alive and they were going to cancel them. I'm all for people finding ways to get out of debt and stay within a budget. For some this is what it takes. For us credit cards is one way we make money.

First off the key is to have a credit card that doesn't have an annual or minimum fee. Second pay the whole bill each month. Interest rates will "eat you alive". Also be able to have a budget and stick to it. If you can't then credit cards aren't for you. If you don't have the money for it in the first place then don't buy it.

We make money by having credit cards (I have two different ones) that offer cash back. Ours currently give 1%. With current bank interests rate at 0.2% we get more money from cash back. Every three months there is also certain areas that if you sign up for them you get 5%. We then pay almost everything with credit card to earn the most amount of money possible.

I love having a statement listing where our money was spent. It also helps keep us on budget for I can go online whenever I want and view the recent activity. It helps in knowing when to spend our money. Like when trying to decide if we should go out to eat. The statement is often categorized. I can view what has been spent at restaurants (plus see expenses I may have not have been aware of such as my husband going out for lunch) and see if we have already spent the budgeted amount for the month.

2 comments:

JessicaOctober 17, 2011 at 5:21 PM
This sounds like what we do too. We have discovercard, and I love the spend analyzer on their site, cuz it really shows how much we're spending on each area (i.e. restaurants) and helps us cut back when needed. We do know lots of people who can't use credit cards wisely and so we're careful to not "encourage" it, but for us it works great!
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HilaryOctober 17, 2011 at 7:18 PM
I couldn't agree more. We use the same card (I think) and we've gotten a TON of casback this year (I think we'll reach the limit this year).
Love getting my checks. So many people say to get airline miles, but I do do love me some cash. :)
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While traveling home from Kindergarten Bud Boy told his dad, "School gives you something to do while you wait for lunch."
Tator commented, "I thought dad was weed hacking and you were going to mow." Mom replied, "He is probably just getting the lawn mower ready." Tator then replied, "or he's scaring a cat."
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Our home teachers shared a lesson on being thankful. After the lesson he said this is important, even for the wee ones. Bud Boy pipes up, "I love the Wii!"
Bud Boy is showing mom how Tator just hurt his arm. After showing her all the ways he can no longer move it he then says, "and this is the arm that does the remote."
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