The way I use credit cards is this; I read my statement either online or in the mail, I see how much money is due, and I transfer money to my checking account and pay it off online.
I evaluate each purchase in the context of my spending for the month - if I think I'm out of line, I'll check my unbilled activity and see where I stand. If I know I'm not spending outside of what's typical, I have no need to worry about the bill until the statement cuts, and then I have a few days until the bill is due so I can decide how much to transfer or how I'll handle the month's bill.
I don't live outside my means or use credit cards as a long-term financing mechanism, but I think that unless you're building and have low limits, gunning for a CLI, or really trying to lower your util in preparation for a new credit application, PIFing before the statement cuts is frustrating.
I can't ever see my spending in a month taking me more than 10% of my available revolving credit (currently $18360), and I feel like I'll either receive auto-CLI's if I keep my usage steady, which will keep my util low, even as my expenses increase. If I anticipate a large number of expenses, I can apply for new credit so my low util is maintained. At least for me, paying the bill before the statement cuts or pre-paying is way more trouble than it's worth and simply too much to think about on a consistent basis. And I feel like if I can keep my util down at 20 when I have limited income, I'll be able to do the same thing when I'm older as my expenses and income both go up.
