topic Re: Due date strategies...help please in Credit Cards

Due date strategies...help please

Anonymous — Thu, 04 May 2017 16:12:22 GMT

Fam,

Now that I am juggling 7 cards, keeping up with the due dates on these suckers isn't the most fun thing in the world. Especially when I want to make sure and PIF each month before the statements cut. Already slipped up and let Disco report with a small balance (immediately paid it). Can you geniuses please share some of your tactics for this? Do some of you have your due dates all changed to the exact same day?

Re: Due date strategies...help please

Anonymous — Thu, 04 May 2017 16:14:48 GMT

Mint.com is great because it warns you about the payment dates. Since statement date is different, I just always use the payment date warnings to gauge when to PIF.

I also maintain my own cashflow projection spreadsheet with every account. Works great for me but is too complicated for many.

Re: Due date strategies...help please

Anonymous — Thu, 04 May 2017 16:19:43 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Fam,

Now that I am juggling 7 cards, keeping up with the due dates on these suckers isn't the most fun thing in the world. Especially when I want to make sure and PIF each month before the statements cut. Already slipped up and let Disco report with a small balance (immediately paid it). Can you geniuses please share some of your tactics for this? Do some of you have your due dates all changed to the exact same day?

I have an extremely high tech system:

I have a post it on my monitor at work with the dates each one of my statements cut

When I get paid every other week, I double check every account and make sure to pay anything that is due before my next paycheck.

Re: Due date strategies...help please

HeavenOhio — Thu, 04 May 2017 16:21:37 GMT

My dates are staggared intentionally, but I think I'm in the minority. I do that so I can let pretty much any card lie dormant at statement cut time. I keep a list of my statement dates in my Apple Notes app. Because the statement date can fluctuate by a day or two with a couple of my cards, I keep the list updated as needed.

Re: Due date strategies...help please

Anonymous — Thu, 04 May 2017 16:23:14 GMT

1. I keep a spreadsheet of our monthly bills, and in that spreadsheet I have each card's due date listed. I also have each payday in the month listed, underneath each pay day I list what I'm going to pay at that time.

2. I keep a file on my phone with statement close dates. I reference it almost daily.

3. I'm just starting to do this, but I'm taking most of the cards out of my wallet, except for maybe four, and I'm leaving them in the sock drawer. That way I limit spending on them. The Amazon card obviously is not in my wallet, so I count that as one of them.

For me the routine is most important. I've created a routine that I follow each month. At the end of the month I make sure everything has been paid and set up for the next month. It's just part of my day now

Re: Due date strategies...help please

Kforce — Thu, 04 May 2017 17:08:34 GMT

I moved all due dates to the 28th of the month, that were movable.

4 of my 7 cards had fixed dates of the last day of the month.

I pay on the 25th, let pending charges report and then pay on the 5th

of the next month to zero all accounts.

If micro managing to play with scores or show a high score for new loan,

I push money on the 25th with enough to cover the pending charges on each.

Thus control exact reporting numbers. I leave 5$ on one card, and zero

on all other cards.

Re: Due date strategies...help please

Anonymous — Thu, 04 May 2017 17:11:02 GMT

One more thing to mention: if your credit card lender offers the option to always auto-pay the minimum balance every month on the due date, set it up immediately.

That way, if you're ever tied up (or tied down) and forget, at least your minimum is paid.

Re: Due date strategies...help please

digitek — Thu, 04 May 2017 17:48:08 GMT

Pay in full every two weeks on every card. No juggling, no surprises, always low util. I do mine on Sundays, and it takes about 10 minutes.

Also have them all set to Auto-Pay, but only as a last resort. TBH I don't trust it =D

Re: Due date strategies...help please

Anonymous — Thu, 04 May 2017 17:50:06 GMT

@digitek wrote:
Pay in full every two weeks on every card. No juggling, no surprises, always low util. I do mine on Sundays, and it takes about 10 minutes.

Also have them all set to Auto-Pay, but only as a last resort. TBH I don't trust it =D

Honestly, this is the best way for me. And the easiest. Thank you.

Re: Due date strategies...help please

JGGM — Thu, 04 May 2017 18:06:01 GMT

I second using Mint. I have the app on my iPad and love it.

Re: Due date strategies...help please

Anonymous — Thu, 04 May 2017 18:08:00 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Fam,

Now that I am juggling 7 cards, keeping up with the due dates on these suckers isn't the most fun thing in the world. Especially when I want to make sure and PIF each month before the statements cut. Already slipped up and let Disco report with a small balance (immediately paid it). Can you geniuses please share some of your tactics for this? Do some of you have your due dates all changed to the exact same day?

For me..

-Calendar with reminders

-Auto Pay

-Check my calendar everyday

-When I get paid, I pay all minimum payments whether they are due or not.

Re: Due date strategies...help please

Anonymous — Thu, 04 May 2017 18:08:02 GMT

@JGGM wrote:
I second using Mint. I have the app on my iPad and love it.

It's free, too. Can't beat free, and it's really nice to see what all is happening.

Re: Due date strategies...help please

rmduhon — Thu, 04 May 2017 18:12:31 GMT

I use a spreadsheet with categories for limit, balance, due date, statement date, and last statement balance. Plus whether it's mine, hubby's, or mom's with the last 4 digits of each account. I definitely needed that not too long ago but I've got the dates for all ~35 accounts in my head now.

Re: Due date strategies...help please

Dalmus — Thu, 14 Sep 2017 12:17:44 GMT

Here's a picture of the spreadsheet I created for myself. The info on the far right is an example of tracking cashflow in an account that you would use to pay your bills. I do not use the same account my work deposits my paycheck into as my bill pay account... that's mildly dangerous in my mind!

I track ALL my recurring payments with this spreadsheet. I track 24 credit cards (although I only have a balance on 4-5 at any given time) along with the Mortgage, car payment, cable bill, etc. I haven't missed a payment in six years.

I only mark an X by a bill after I've actually scheduled the EFT, and then I usually verify a day later that the EFT really did get scheduled.

Bill Payment Spreadsheet

Edit:

Updated link because Photobucket doesn't allow sharing anymore.

Re: Due date strategies...help please

Anonymous — Thu, 04 May 2017 18:56:13 GMT

Nice spreadsheet Dalmus!

Mine is very similar including colors although I run mine the opposite way (accounts across the top, dates going down). Also track expected cash flow (multiple income sources) and statement cut timing so I know which card to use if I'm applying a large payment and want to avoid showing utilization.

Re: Due date strategies...help please

Dalmus — Thu, 04 May 2017 19:09:01 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Nice spreadsheet Dalmus!

Mine is very similar including colors although I run mine the opposite way (accounts across the top, dates going down). Also track expected cash flow (multiple income sources) and statement cut timing so I know which card to use if I'm applying a large payment and want to avoid showing utilization.

Thanks. It's been an evolutionary process over the past 24 months... Its come a LONG way from three columns of information.

I use Prism as well for a Big Picture view of my available credit and cash. I'm not a fan of Mint.

Nothing beats the At-A-Glance information provided by a well-designed spreadsheet!

Re: Due date strategies...help please

Anonymous — Thu, 04 May 2017 19:10:52 GMT

I have a personal bias against Quicken over a debated and disputed $1.99 charge or something from back when Eisenhower was President, lol. Amazing how a small irrelevant dispute over pennies can stick in a guy's brain for so long and probably hurts me more than it ever hurt them.

Never heard of Prism unless you mean the NSA's surveillance program and from what I can tell, they probably know more than I do about my finances, lol.

Re: Due date strategies...help please

Anonymous — Thu, 04 May 2017 19:13:58 GMT

Ahh prismapp.com -- looks interesting but it's mobile only. Will still check it out, thanks!

Re: Due date strategies...help please

Anonymous — Thu, 04 May 2017 19:14:40 GMT

I will agree ... fantastic spreadsheet.

I think I'll probably use it as a template to set up a similar tab in my ongoing budget spreadsheet. Thank you very much for sharing!

Re: Due date strategies...help please

Dalmus — Thu, 04 May 2017 19:18:22 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I have a personal bias against Quicken over a debated and disputed $1.99 charge or something from back when Eisenhower was President, lol. Amazing how a small irrelevant dispute over pennies can stick in a guy's brain for so long and probably hurts me more than it ever hurt them.

Never heard of Prism unless you mean the NSA's surveillance program and from what I can tell, they probably know more than I do about my finances, lol.

Yeah, I have a similar issue with Quicken... Interesting!

Prism is basically the same concept as Mint in that you link your various bank and card accounts to it, but to me its better organized and easier to find specific information. Free to use from Android Pay, IOS, WIndows Mobile, blah blah blah. You can get an overview on their website: www.prismmoney.com