Due date strategies...help please

[Anonymous]

I changed all but two cards to close on the 2nd-4th. The other two close mid-month, that way I can leap-frog them to always use a card and have a way not to use the ones about to close so I have have 0 balances showing. 

Spreadsheets are fine for balances and what-not, but it's easier to have a majority of them closing at the same time. Easy to do from their respective websites!!

[Anonymous]

No spreadsheets nor computer programs needed. I create the same due date for all of my cards.

Very easy and no spreadsheets or spending valuable time sorting through computer programs needed at all.

[Mrm-na]

In general I don't think there's any harm in letting balances report.  In fact it might be a good thing to let your lenders see how you manage those balances.  I don't try to keep things from reporting unless I'm about to apply for credit, or I'm worried about an existing lender getting spooked into adverse action.

I do have a couple new accounts about to report open, the associated inquiries, one old account closing, and a significant balance about to post all in the same month, and one of my most valued accounts is with Barclay (reputed to be skittish) - so this is a concern on my mind at the moment. But generally, I let balances report.

Like many here, I keep track of my finances on a spreadsheet and the due dates are on there.  I also have bookmarks to each of my accounts lined up in a Financial folder in my browser, so I periodically click through each of those in sequence while updating the spreadsheet.

[jdxprs1]

Mint is cool but I'm so sick of the constant issues it has with logging into my accounts.

[Anonymous]

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@jdxprs1 wrote:
Mint is cool but I'm so sick of the constant issues it has with logging into my accounts.

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Interesting, I haven't seen that yet really.  I have one very old secured CC that will never graduate but zero fees that I keep because all my 11+ year old closed accounts fall off soon so I keep it for aging and that one won't connect with Mint because it uses a stupid verification step.

My village's water department has a login but Mint still won't add it -- I've asked monthly to no avail.  I just added it manually since it only comes 6 times a year.

Otherwise, I connect to over 60 accounts (lots of banks and investment accounts and things like that) and I never error out unless there's an issue on the bank's website.  

[Anonymous]

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@jdxprs1 wrote:
Mint is cool but I'm so sick of the constant issues it has with logging into my accounts.

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This is why I stopped using it

[Dalmus]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@jdxprs1 wrote:
Mint is cool but I'm so sick of the constant issues it has with logging into my accounts.

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Interesting, I haven't seen that yet really.  I have one very old secured CC that will never graduate but zero fees that I keep because all my 11+ year old closed accounts fall off soon so I keep it for aging and that one won't connect with Mint because it uses a stupid verification step.

My village's water department has a login but Mint still won't add it -- I've asked monthly to no avail.  I just added it manually since it only comes 6 times a year.

Otherwise, I connect to over 60 accounts (lots of banks and investment accounts and things like that) and I never error out unless there's an issue on the bank's website.  

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 I have the exact same issue with Prism and my water utility.  They basically say that until they get a certain number of requests for that vendor, they won't take the time to add them.  Which I understand from their standpoint... doesn't make it any less irritating for me. 

 My issue with Mint is that the "All Transactions" screen doesn't actually tell me what account those transactions appy to.  Right now all I see for May 2nd is three transactions... a car payment (EFT), a check and a gracery payment..  I personally know they are from three different accounts, but there is no indication in Mint telling me that unless I tap each individual transaction..  I like Prism's overview better.   Just personal preference, of course.  I also hate tomatoes but love Broccolli. 

[Dalmus]

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@Anonymous wrote:

No spreadsheets nor computer programs needed. I create the same due date for all of my cards.

Very easy and no spreadsheets or spending valuable time sorting through computer programs needed at all.

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 To each their own.     I can see why people would like that setup.  Personal preference!

[ChargedUp]

I have a dedicated email address just for credit card bills and have it tied to my phone for access and alerts. In that email address is a folder for each card. When I get a notice that a statement is available, it stays as an unread email (and thus leaves a reminder on my phone screen) until I send payment and I get the notification that payment has cleared. Then I place both of those emails in the appropriate folder for future reference if necessary. 

I typically sign on each account at least once a week anyways, but the above has kept me straight with 10 cards + my wifes cards.

[Anonymous]

Like many others, I changed my due dates on over 12 cards to the beginning of the month. As soon as I get paid at the end of the month I start sending payments and done with it all in under 20 minutes. Dont have to worry about any due dates throughout the entire month. Works for me