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

[Anonymous]

I usually pay mine off in full every month (about $1500); husband has almost $10k in debt on his. Not sure why, exactly. Should really look into that...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Of course it is "smart" to have an emergency fund. Doesn't mean everyone has one, though, even if they are trying to be smart about finances. We likely will dip into our savings to pay off some debt even though I hate to do it after having a small crisis this summer when my hours got cut back and we weren't able to put anything in savings for a couple months.

While I do realize the demographics of this board skew higher income, it seems unlikely that EVERYONE has no revolving debt. THAT was what I was calling shenanigans on - it seems like no one is admitting to it even though it is highly likely that there are more like me out there with credit card debt that isn't paid off in full monthly.

I think that most people choosing to answer this thread are proud that they pay off their balances every month. That is why you are getting the skewed results. Doesn't mean they are lying, just that the ones with revolving debt are embarrassed/uninterested in responding.

+1.

[Anonymous]

Both my husband and I have always paid off our cards monthly, both separately and together.

[Anonymous]

We always pay it off monthly - about 1500-2000.

[Anonymous]

We always pay it off. We use Amex mostly, so we have to pay it off each month. If we use Visa or MC, we pay it off. If we don't have the money to pay off the bill in its entirety, we don't buy it.

[Anonymous]

Always.

[Anonymous]

never

[Anonymous]

Of course I pay it off. Why wouldn't I? I don't have a spending problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow so surprising...we do not...probably every few months it gets paid off.

Why is this surprising? Many people around here make big bucks. And don't spend them all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We always pay it off monthly - about 1500-2000.

We charge $5,000 per month approximately on four cards and pay it all off each month.

[Anonymous]

Depends on what I bought during the month. I budget $1000/month toward credit card debt, and some months my spending comes in less than that, and some months it is more. It's "more" when I make a large purchase like plane tickets home for the holidays or a new computer when mine recently died. Then it takes a month or two to pay off the balance. My income is $100K. I use my debit card for all transactions when my card isn't leaving my possession, and my credit card at restaurants and bars and online shopping.

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

Nope. We always pay much more than the minimum though

[Anonymous]

We were so debt averse that we would only use our debit cards. Then a potential mortgage lender told us our credit scores were very good, but not at the top level because we lacked much credit history. We had never carried debt and always purchased our cars for cash. I think we had one Nordstrom card with a few purchases on it, ever, and that was our credit history.

[Anonymous]

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.