cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

How are you managing your credit lines?

tag
webhopper
Moderator Emeritus

Re: How are you managing your credit lines?

I do a Cash Flow Planning worksheet before the month starts.  I make a plan for each check that comes in.

 

The checks are: 1st paycheck, Rent from First Tenant, Rent from Second Tenant, Child Support, 2nd paycheck

 

I pay bills first using Online Bill pay to push the payment, so that the amount gets taken out of my account immediately, then savings, everything leftover is money for eating out etc... also, i've got 8% going into retirement accounts pre-tax so I don't feel bad about blowing whats leftover on movies, restaurants, fico scores LOL.

FICO 9:
Filed Chapter 13 on 6/1/2017 after job loss. Discharged 6/1/2022.

Goal: Gardening!


Message 11 of 19
CreditScholar
Valued Contributor

Re: How are you managing your credit lines?

Pretty much everything I buy goes on my chase sapphire preferred. When I purchase something I always keep the receipt, which then gets recorded in a booklet when I get home. This way I know how much I've spent for each transaction, where I spent it at, and our cumulative weekly total. Our weekly budget is $500 of discretionary spending, and every week we turn a new page and start with a fresh $500. When bills come I pay them very quickly, typically within a few days. I don't worry about writing those down because they're very predictable and are already built into our budget. We got to this after accounting for our income, all of our fixed expenses and savings targets. I check once a week to make sure everything posted correctly, and I pay the balance in full every month.
EX 798, EQ 789, TU 784
American Express Platinum (NPSL) || Bank of America Privileges with Travel Rewards Visa Signature - $23,200 CL
Barclays American Airlines Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard - $20,000 CL || Chase IHG Rewards World Mastercard - $25,000 CL
Chase Sapphire Preferred Visa Signature - $12,700 CL || Chase United MileagePlus Club World Elite MasterCard - $26,500 CL
Citibank Hilton Reserve Visa Signature - $20,000 CL || J.P. Morgan Ritz Carlton Visa Signature - $23,500 CL
Message 12 of 19
Chris123nTx
Established Contributor

Re: How are you managing your credit lines?

I still use my debit card for most day to day stuff. Use my amex or freedom for bigger things or travel but pay them almost immediatly. Im like you in that i know all to well how easy things can spiral out of control.

Message 13 of 19
haulingthescoreup
Moderator Emerita

Re: How are you managing your credit lines?


@namvet wrote:

@TheBronxBomber wrote:
I have read many messages about app approvals and denials, but I would like to know how people are managing their credit lines. I checked my credit today and my available credit is 100%. I find myself using just two credit cards; Amex Platinum and Amex Delta Reserve and I immediately pay them off. Because of how I managed my credit when I was younger, I'm totally afraid of allowing my charges to spiral out of control. See, I'm a recovering shopaholic. How are you managing your credit?

Very very carefully!


+1,000,000

 

I created a budget for my expenses, and figured out how my poor battered paycheck would cover them. I use plastic to pay for them, and I really don't spend more because I'm using plastic. (A study showed that many people do buy more if they're using plastic than cash, but many people does not mean the same as everyone.)

 

So anyway, the money is already there, ready to pay off the bill.

 

You say that you're a recovering shopaholic, good for you! (The recovering part, that is. Smiley Very Happy) People who use shopping for emotional needs are going to be more vulnerable to running up debt than those of us who would rather have our toenails pulled out than go to the mall. When my kids were younger and wanted to go to the mall, I called it "mauling," because I hated it so much. It's easy for us, because pretty much all we do is buy groceries and gas, pay the light bill and cable bill, and maybe go bat-wild on a sausage biscuit at the company cafeteria. And this doesn't mean that I don't have plenty of vices and temptations, because I do. Shopping just isn't one of them.

 

(Lindt extra dark chocolate truffle balls are, though. Good Lord. Also Mavis Staples CD's, and anything bossa nova.)

* Credit is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master. * Who's the boss --you or your credit?
FICO's: EQ 781 - TU 793 - EX 779 (from PSECU) - Done credit hunting; having fun with credit gardening. - EQ 590 on 5/14/2007
Message 14 of 19
LS2982
Mega Contributor

Re: How are you managing your credit lines?


@TheBronxBomber wrote:
I have read many messages about app approvals and denials, but I would like to know how people are managing their credit lines. I checked my credit today and my available credit is 100%. I find myself using just two credit cards; Amex Platinum and Amex Delta Reserve and I immediately pay them off. Because of how I managed my credit when I was younger, I'm totally afraid of allowing my charges to spiral out of control. See, I'm a recovering shopaholic. How are you managing your credit?

I used to heavily use my CC's, now that i'm in the garden and wanting better scores i've become very frugal on spending and hawkeye my statement closing dates so I can always have $0 balances report from here except 1 account.




EQ FICO 548 3/3/16
Message 15 of 19
LS2982
Mega Contributor

Re: How are you managing your credit lines?

Also I would recommend a program called YNAB (you need a budget). Very nice program to track finances.




EQ FICO 548 3/3/16
Message 16 of 19
Revelate
Moderator Emeritus

Re: How are you managing your credit lines?

For me, managing my tradelines is mostly a budgetting exercise and I run everything through my cards which allows for easy transaction tracking later.

 

I'm not very sophisticated in my analysis, nor do I have a particularly complicated financial life, but I just wrote out a quick 12 month plan in Excel with repeating income vs. expenses tracked against my aggregate checking balances... and then just put in a 1K slush fund per month to cover food / entertainment / random silly stuff.  I spot check that occasionally with my checking account balances, if something's off I go figure it out.

 

As a reminder system, I put all the due dates I have into Google calendar and configured it to send me email notifications three days ahead of time to go pay whatever it is.   Finally I do an end of month expenditure analysis (USAA's little spending tool which I adore), and see where things worked and where they didn't.

 

It's not pretty, and I've been over-the-top with checking my accounts lately, but it's functional and is working for me currently (and hopefully it's resilient enough when I go wandering off on some other distraction, work, dating, chasing a mortgage with a butterfly net).  Think that's the ultimate key much like a workout or diet plan, find what works for you and stick with that.

 




        
Message 17 of 19
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: How are you managing your credit lines?

My simple answer is, I keep track of what I spend on each card I use that month and PIF every card before the statement date, with the exception of one card I allow to report a very small balance, keeping me at 1% util each and every month.

 

I never charge more than I can afford to PIF, it's that simple for me.

 

And I almost always overpay by rounding up what my balance is, if I owe AmEx 771.50, I'll pay 775, I do that on all my CC's that allow overpayment's.

Message 18 of 19
LTomBerry
Frequent Contributor

Re: How are you managing your credit lines?

Quicken to keep track of transactions, investments, etc.

Mint.com for monthly budgeting because I can access it from my phone to see what I have left to spend.

I have all the cards on PIF autopay, except BofA Visa, I can't figure out for the life of me how to do autopay on that website.


Starting Score: 690
Current Score: EQ 780 EX 814 TU 783
Goal Score: 800

Take the FICO Fitness Challenge
Message 19 of 19
Advertiser Disclosure: The offers that appear on this site are from third party advertisers from whom FICO receives compensation.