Keeping track of credit cards

[OmarGB9]

I'm the same as you OP. Just take a spreadsheet and manually update everything haha. Works for me; mostly because I only have 5 or 6 accounts lol.

[NRB525]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

Hello,

I hope everyone is doing well tonight. I just wanted to get some insight on how everyone with multiple cards manage them and keep payments in line, credit limits, due dates, open dates, and so on.

I am kinda young (24) and have several cards with a total limit of 105k (income of 39k). I owe nothing as I pay them off each month (I don't spend more than what I can afford, most of them I have open are from signup bonuses, go me!!!!!).

I keep an excel sheet with the cards name, last 4 numbers, open date, annual fee, signup bonus, bonus redeemed, payment date, credit limit, and a spend requirement for signup bonuses. This works out decant for me, but want to get ideas on how to make it better or an idea on what you all are doing!

Thanks for your time and I appericate everyone who helps

---

It sounds like you have a good start to organizing all the data.

I have a similar workbook that has been evolving over the years. I have been paying down balances, so I have a Balance column, and the Payment in a column toward the right for each month. The Payments columns, with each month, are off to the right, and as each month cycle of payments completes, I make a new copy the worksheet to make a new tab, so that prior month of balances and payment progress is frozen. I then insert a new column in the new worksheet copy, that moves the history of month columns one column to the right, and I set up my expected payment amounts in the "This Month" column, highlight the cell in orange for each payment that will be coming due. As each statement is printed, and I process/review/balance the CC statement and payment, including verifying the autopayment transaction coming up in MS Money, I take off the orange color so I know it's set up for payment, and what the actual payment is (usually the same as plan). From all this, I can go back and get history of what the total balances were month to month, page through the tabs to see how progress is going in paying down balances, and see where payment emphasis has been.

There's also an extended portion below, with each month, to record the interest cost that month. Another motivator to track that cost and work to find ways to reduce it.

I have MS Money, because I've used it forever and it's a good way to track checking, credit cards, mortgage, bills, and 401k balances. The Excel worksheet has the advantage that it's just a sheet of paper that can be organized with the relevant grid of data I want to see.

[Anonymous]

Excel and Mint for the win. And get a big card book to store all your cards. I don't think you need to worry about security. Intuit has been around for a long time and are known to be good.

[Anonymous]

I let gmail notify with google now cards, shows when a payment is due...although I generallypay early.  I set monthly reminders in my google calender and have a widget on my home screen that shows my agenda. I also havent began micromanaging paying things before statement cut dates...yet half the time I pay stuff off the same day it gets charged.....

 If you have a dozen cards and only carry a balance on a few I don't really see the point in making things tooo difficult.

I guess I am kind of old school with other things. In my drawer I have each credit card approval letter and stick all relevant info in each cards envelope. And on the front of each one I write approval date, when the 0% ends, what the APR will be, any fees, when to spend for bonus, etc.

Then again I have only been doing this diligently since april or may.

I have tried Mint. They did not have the ability to add all my cards. And with my OCD its either all or nothing.

I also use a folder on my smartphone and put each banking app in there and if they dont have a mobile app I bookmark their site and make an icon and throw that in the folder with the others.  Out of all the apps I use, I prefer discover as its only a 4 digit pin to login, but like Citi snapshot very much. Capital one pattern password is also great.

I will probably continue to write my last credit limit increase request date on the envelopes mentioned above. Paper and pen... *gasp*

[Anonymous]

I have never used an online product to track my accounts so I can't advise you on the security aspects but if you just want something simple to help you manage your cards a spread sheet works well. This is one I use

 The Freedom and Discover cards are not listed in the monthly schedule as these are the two cards I use for large purchases carry a balance on from time to time. You can always add or eliminate any information you see fit.   Sorry the picture is so small if you copy the image and paste it into an app such as  Windows Paint you can get a bigger  image.                                                                         

[Anonymous]

I use an Excel spreadsheet. I have credit limit, APR, date of last CLI, due date, etc. on there. I have a macro set up to resort according to due date whenever I make a change. That way, what I need to pay next is always on top. Been doing it like that for about 2 years and I find it both simple and powerful to use the spreadsheet.

[Anonymous]

I use YNAB (you need a budget) to track all my accounts and expenses. I don't save info like interest rates (don't pay any) or opening date of credit cards, but if I wanted to, I could.  In YNAB you can attach a little note next to every account and every bill you enter.  

YNAB has revolutionized the way I use credit. And honesty, I've been through this credit repair stuff before...I'd fix my credit but not change the way I spent money. Now is the first time I am confident that I will not ruin my credit again.  The way I use credit cards has changed forever and I'll never be able to go back. 

You can sign up for a free trial of YNAB for 30 days to see if it works for you. If you use this link you'll get 10% off:  http://ynab.refr.cc/M2PVHFK