Be honest - How many of you pay your complete credit card balance off each month?

[Anonymous]

I do, but only after taking 11 years to dig ourselves out of credit card debt. Resolved that we will never ever go back.

[Anonymous]

I have not paid a credit card in full every month since I got my first one 14 yrs ago. My husband is the same way.
We are still 20k in debt and make $150k/yr.

What we are doing now is not using our cards and paying them down each month. Should be paid off by spring. We also transfer balances around on different cards to utilize 0% interest charges.

We are not proud of our financial backgrounds, but I think we have both finally grown up.

[Anonymous]

Don't have any credit cards or debt (other than mortgage). Use the Amex for travel and yes, its paid off when it comes due.

People who have 4 credit cards and run them up are nuts in this day and age.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Always.

I use my CC for everything, then pay it off each billing cycle. DH, too -- this way we earn cashback points (or at Target, 5% discount).

For those saying you must incur consumer debt to live...I grew up in a poor rural community, worked 4 part-time jobs through college (there were no full-time jobs in my area so I had to cobble together part-time ones), full-time plus (full-time plus a part-time job) through grad school (put myself through), and lived without many amenities (no cable, voice-only cell phone, ate out only 1 time per month, etc), no pets as they are a major expense, no car (metro, bus, or bike). Did this until DH and I were 30 and we actually had had decent paying jobs for several years, and could afford a DP on a house and emergency fund. We do now have a comfortable HHI (but we started out with an HHI of $23K when we moved to DC 10 years ago!). Single parents, I feel for you, that makes it so much harder -- but I would always cut frills (like pets) over carrying debt.

Things like pets, vacations, and cable are luxuries, but everyone expects to be able to have them. You can have them, but unless you have lots of extra cash, you will end up going into debt to pay for them. It is all about priorities, and frankly, the lower your HHI, the more I feel you should prioritize avoiding consumer debt.

I'm a previous poster with some debt, paying down, but not ashamed of the balance. I'm also a single parent. While it can be hard, I am doing a-ok generally, and living comfortably on a reasonable income. We don't spend much on frills. CC gets used for cash flow emergencies.

That said, what I think a lot of folks don't understand having largely never been there with kids involved is that living on a bare bones survival budget (which I'm no doing anymore, thank God..see above re: comfortable) is emotionally exhausting if you have to do it for too long. Being broke can make you so angry, especially if you are working your behind off to do it. And when you get to a place where things seem a little more solid, you can be loathe to go back to the survival mode when things take a dive for whatever reason. E.g., I'm not going to get rid of my son's bunny rabbit because I have credit card debt (not that you are suggesting that, PP. It's just an example). Most of the people I know who are or were really struggling to cover the basics are frankly financial geniuses to make it to the end of the month every time.

That one dinner out a month you put on a credit card, or trip to see Grandma at the holidays or what have you, feels like something you should be able to get to do and makes things a little more bearable.

PP here. I know -- it was much easier to live bare bones before we had DD, since kids are so expensive and a real wild card. Ultimately, what really makes me angry is the vast gulf between the haves and have-nots in this country, and the disappearance of a stable, comfortable middle class in favor of policies that enrich the ultra-wealthy, which of course pushes more and more Americans into debt or closer to it. But that's a completely different issue -- it's just that, having grown up in an area where 99% of people had to do exactly the same financial wizardry you describe to make it to the end of the month drives that issue home for me.

I hope you find stable ground soon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have not paid a credit card in full every month since I got my first one 14 yrs ago. My husband is the same way.
We are still 20k in debt and make $150k/yr.

What we are doing now is not using our cards and paying them down each month. Should be paid off by spring. We also transfer balances around on different cards to utilize 0% interest charges.

We are not proud of our financial backgrounds, but I think we have both finally grown up.

How can a family with a HHI of $150k could pay off $20k in credit card debt in 5 months. That's $4k a month even at 0% interest. How are you managing that?? I need tips!!

[Anonymous]

"Single parents, I feel for you, that makes it so much harder -- but I would always cut frills (like pets) over carrying debt.

Things like pets, vacations, and cable are luxuries, but everyone expects to be able to have them."

Our pets are beloved members of the family, hardly frills or luxuries. They cost a grand total of $30 per month.

[Anonymous]

I always do -- I'm married to a banker and we're both really thrifty and midwestern.

[Anonymous]

I pay in full every month. I only use a CC because it's easier to carry than cash. I think I've only hit my limit once when I bought a bunch of furniture.

[Anonymous]

we frequently carry a balance. It's awful I know. We put everything on the card for miles, and we just suck at sticking to a budget. We end up paying it all off every few months, and think ok, never again, but we keep doing it. I'm impressed so many of you do!

[Anonymous]

Pay it off every month. Pay cash for our cars, which are each in the $50k range, childcare, private school = cash. Almost paid cash for our $1m+ house, and getting ready to pay cash for MAJOR home renovations. It's all a bit exhausting because I would rather take out a small home loan but DH doesn't believe in debt (it's a principal thing, not religious) and I can't really argue with it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pay it off every month. Pay cash for our cars, which are each in the $50k range, childcare, private school = cash. Almost paid cash for our $1m+ house, and getting ready to pay cash for MAJOR home renovations. It's all a bit exhausting because I would rather take out a small home loan but DH doesn't believe in debt (it's a principal thing, not religious) and I can't really argue with it.

I forgot to add, we use our credit card for everything to get airline miles. When I say cash above I meant that we pay off our cc every month. We also have an emergency fund, retirement, yadda yadda. We used to make a lot, then DH shifted careers and doesn't make as much, but our lifestyle hasn't really changed because we know how to manage our money. However, I had $7k credit card debt pre-marriage but paid it off before our wedding.

[Anonymous]

I always pay them. My wife makes me

[Anonymous]

I'm a single parent who has been underemployed for years. I finally found a job a few months ago in my field where I make around $50,000/yr. Sounds like a salary most DCUMs would complain about but it's all relative. I was making half that when I was underemployed. Those years of making $28K left me in around $15K of credit card debt. My job offered no health benefits so I had to pay for my own policy for myself and my DD. That was a HUGE chunk of change. Plus I had a high deductible so I ended up paying for every doctor bill anyway. I ended up charging some of the doctor/dentist bills or they would've sent the bills to collections. My credit cards were all zero balance cards but it was hard to pay much more than the minimum each month. My ex sometimes paid child support so I couldn't really count on that each month. Now I am finally paying off the balances and it feels great. Not everyone w/ credit card debt is charging up a storm on eating out, traveling, clothing, jewelry, electronics, etc. I agree with the poster who said that sometimes very inexpensive "things" are important for keeping your morale up. My DD get ice cream out once a week as a treat. I defend spending that $6 each week. Most folks who post on this board have very high HHIs so I think the responses will represent that. I cannot imagine making enough money in one month to pay off my $15K credit card bill but I am sure plenty of posters could do that w/ no problem.

[Anonymous]

We don't pay ours off every month but we are on a budget to pay it off in 18 months. We had just finished paying 20k in debt incurred while we were both out of work and when we had to take on 45k in health care costs. We have 30k of that to go.

[Anonymous]

I've had a card since I was 16 and have never not paid the balance in full. However, I'm not going to pat myself on the back for being lucky.