Anyone just not use credit cards at all?

[Anonymous]

Due to our jobs (75 percent commission) we have realized over the years we tend to be lazy and optimistic and overcharge at times waiting for the commissions to come in. We just had a huge commission fall through and realized we overspent the last few months or so on our CC. I think this is probably not an issue for most of you have a pretty stable pay and budget. We are higher income so I think in the back of our minds it’s easy to be optimistic. We will be paying it off now but I just wanted to see if anyone else just moved to a debit card system to avoid this. I think we would still use CC on occasion like travel or big purchases. I know our situation is a little unusual and people with better self control wouldn’t get into this.

[Anonymous]

The only reason I ever use a credit card is for the fraud protection. I pay off the balance weekly so that I have a 0 on my monthly statement (or close to 0 if I buy one or two things with it on the day before the statement date). I also never charge more than I have in my primary checking account with a minimum 1k buffer. Hth

[Anonymous]

What’s the difference in paying off the balance every month and using a debit card? Surely you’re not suggesting we carry around a bunch of cash like some paranoid German?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What’s the difference in paying off the balance every month and using a debit card? Surely you’re not suggesting we carry around a bunch of cash like some paranoid German?

*nods grimly*

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The only reason I ever use a credit card is for the fraud protection. I pay off the balance weekly so that I have a 0 on my monthly statement (or close to 0 if I buy one or two things with it on the day before the statement date). I also never charge more than I have in my primary checking account with a minimum 1k buffer. Hth

Ditto here except we pay off the statement monthly on autopay. I like the fraud protection, purchase protection, and ability to dispute charges if I have an issue with a vendor. I do not like inputting any info. online related to my actual checking account.

The only time we don’t pay it all off is when we’re using pay over time for a big expense on our Amex (sometimes we’ll pay for a big vacation over 90 days).

OP, could you just treat your CC like a debit card?

[Anonymous]

I feel like we can’t just from our history. Which is fine, it’s good to know and just change things now before it becomes more of a problem. I think we have to be more diligent in living in our 25 percent base, which is hard as you can imagine.

[Anonymous]

I mean ... I have a budget. Whether or not I'm using a credit or debit card is irrelevant. The credit card gets paid off each month.

[Anonymous]

I pay for everything by credit. Only the mortgage isn't paid by credit. Pay off the balance promptly every month. I get points. A lot of points. It's worth it. Haven't seen or touched cash in years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I pay for everything by credit. Only the mortgage isn't paid by credit. Pay off the balance promptly every month. I get points. A lot of points. It's worth it. Haven't seen or touched cash in years.

I’m looking for people in my situation. Not sure why it’s worth mentioning this. This is basically everyone else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Due to our jobs (75 percent commission) we have realized over the years we tend to be lazy and optimistic and overcharge at times waiting for the commissions to come in. We just had a huge commission fall through and realized we overspent the last few months or so on our CC. I think this is probably not an issue for most of you have a pretty stable pay and budget. We are higher income so I think in the back of our minds it’s easy to be optimistic. We will be paying it off now but I just wanted to see if anyone else just moved to a debit card system to avoid this. I think we would still use CC on occasion like travel or big purchases. I know our situation is a little unusual and people with better self control wouldn’t get into this.

I use one and earn points. I pay it off in full each month. No interest paid.

[Anonymous]

There are many more protections using a CC than a debit card. We use CCs for the rewards and pay the balance off monthly. I look at CCs as a 30-day interest free loan. As soon as you pay any interest though, you've defeated any gains from the rewards. We very rarely use cash.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What’s the difference in paying off the balance every month and using a debit card? Surely you’re not suggesting we carry around a bunch of cash like some paranoid German?

I earn a little money in what I charge to my credit card and pay off biweekly. That’s why.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I pay for everything by credit. Only the mortgage isn't paid by credit. Pay off the balance promptly every month. I get points. A lot of points. It's worth it. Haven't seen or touched cash in years.

I’m looking for people in my situation. Not sure why it’s worth mentioning this. This is basically everyone else.

Not really. Most use credit cards and pay interest on it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Due to our jobs (75 percent commission) we have realized over the years we tend to be lazy and optimistic and overcharge at times waiting for the commissions to come in. We just had a huge commission fall through and realized we overspent the last few months or so on our CC. I think this is probably not an issue for most of you have a pretty stable pay and budget. We are higher income so I think in the back of our minds it’s easy to be optimistic. We will be paying it off now but I just wanted to see if anyone else just moved to a debit card system to avoid this. I think we would still use CC on occasion like travel or big purchases. I know our situation is a little unusual and people with better self control wouldn’t get into this.

. Also you can set up the accounts so that payments happen automatically to pay the balance.

[Anonymous]

OP we only use debit cards. We overspend on credit cards so we just don’t use them.

One of us is in sales with 50% of income coming in from commissions. We just don’t count on it and try to live off of our base salaries, which can be challenging but is doable.