multiple CC accounts

[Anonymous]

I'm a "old" guy (59) so I've seen a lot of stuff over the years. But I still have a question for the collective.   How do y'all with 10 or more CCs keep on top of things?  I have 3 and wife has 2.  I live off my debit card, not that I fear CCs, I just figured no need to charge it if I had the money.  Fast forward 2 months ago when I go through the DNA exam to secure a mortgage, and the lender advises I have no recent activity on my revolving credit, and hurt my score (low 700s for each of us).  So I came here to see why that was, and now I know.

I can't imagine juggling the statements of 12 cards.  So ya get something in the mail almost everday of the month?  I couldn't keep up with whose been paid and who's on deck, and Zeus knows what happens if ya forget one, or confuse the date, and they punish ya.  I've had my Amex card since 1982, the few months I have a balance on it, I pay it off 1-3 months and then it may sit 9 months.  ( what y'all the sock drawer LOL).  But despite not missing a payment since 1982, if I miss next months they're gonna waylay me for about 60 pts on my fico, and with a score of 710, I'm suddenly in the crosshairs on a potential mortgage debacle.  I'm approved for my loan, and they broke ground last week.  They said they'll take another look at the credit thing in Jan.  I went out and put a new grill on my visa to show em I ain't afraid to spend LOL.  I thought it odd to charge it when I had enough in my checking account 7 or 8.  Now I Iive in fear that bill slips by and its all over but the crying.

What kind of system would a guy use to keep something from slipping by?  A guy has 11 cards, 2 car notes, mortgage, and maybe a loan on a fancy lawn mower, motorcycle, boat, (toys).  Add in power, cell, private school tuition or kids daycare, charities.  Money sent to savings and then ya check the numbers on your 401k, and you're lookin at full day of finiancial upkeep.

So do y'all gather up everything and sit down for a day or 2, or take care of it as it comes in?  Better for statements come in on snail mail or Email?  How do ya do it?

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I'm a "old" guy (59) so I've seen a lot of stuff over the years. But I still have a question for the collective.   How do y'all with 10 or more CCs keep on top of things?  I have 3 and wife has 2.  I live off my debit card, not that I fear CCs, I just figured no need to charge it if I had the money.  Fast forward 2 months ago when I go through the DNA exam to secure a mortgage, and the lender advises I have no recent activity on my revolving credit, and hurt my score (low 700s for each of us).  So I came here to see why that was, and now I know.

I can't imagine juggling the statements of 12 cards.  So ya get something in the mail almost everday of the month?  I couldn't keep up with whose been paid and who's on deck, and Zeus knows what happens if ya forget one, or confuse the date, and they punish ya.  I've had my Amex card since 1982, the few months I have a balance on it, I pay it off 1-3 months and then it may sit 9 months.  ( what y'all the sock drawer LOL).  But despite not missing a payment since 1982, if I miss next months they're gonna waylay me for about 60 pts on my fico, and with a score of 710, I'm suddenly in the crosshairs on a potential mortgage debacle.  I'm approved for my loan, and they broke ground last week.  They said they'll take another look at the credit thing in Jan.  I went out and put a new grill on my visa to show em I ain't afraid to spend LOL.  I thought it odd to charge it when I had enough in my checking account 7 or 8.  Now I Iive in fear that bill slips by and its all over but the crying.

What kind of system would a guy use to keep something from slipping by?  A guy has 11 cards, 2 car notes, mortgage, and maybe a loan on a fancy lawn mower, motorcycle, boat, (toys).  Add in power, cell, private school tuition or kids daycare, charities.  Money sent to savings and then ya check the numbers on your 401k, and you're lookin at full day of finiancial upkeep.

So do y'all gather up everything and sit down for a day or 2, or take care of it as it comes in?  Better for statements come in on snail mail or Email?  How do ya do it?

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You are not old..  I use a spreadsheet.  I also use outlook to remind me of my closing date/due dates on each card.  I also use the weekends with a cup of coffee in handto look over every statement.  It can be done.  Since you have the funds, get some prime cards and then set up auto pay so that the money comes out directly out of your account.  That way you have peace of mind.

[Anonymous]

I forgot to add, you can also use www.mint.com to help track your things.

[eddie84]

I use a spreadsheet (Excel) to keep track of all my 20+ accounts.    There's also a template floating around somewhere on these forums.

[msbia]

I also use an Excel spreadsheet and update it weekly. Then I use the app "Check" by Intuit on my iPad and iPhone and it notifies me of when my credit cards and bills are due. Very helpful! By the way, OP, I loved your post...very entertaining!

[Anonymous]

If your fianances are such that you know you can easily PIF for everything, there is no need for a spreadseet, just, as others suggested, set all you cards to pay statement balance in full on due date.  And then things take care of themselves.

[p-]

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BamaGuy wrote:  What kind of system would a guy use to keep something from slipping by? 

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I have a budget spreadsheet that I use to keep track of when my bills and loan payments are due, and I pay my credit cards in full each month most of the time.  I only have 8 to keep track of, counting my wife's cards, but every two weeks on payday I check the balance on each one, when I sit down to pay the bills.  I also keep track of the payoff balance on the loans, and when quarterly or annual expenses will come up. I normally use just one credit card at a time, but this time of year we have a lot of holiday shopping that we don't want eachother to see so it's spread around a bit.

I use USAA for my banking, and one of the services they offer is account linking for credit cards.  So, my main screen on USAA shows the balances of all cards.  The billpay portion remonds me if a payment is due for any ebill I've signed up for, or bills that I set a reminder for.

I think the risks involved with having dozens of cards outweigh the benefits, and prefer to keep it simple.  

[Anonymous]

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@p- wrote:

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BamaGuy wrote:  What kind of system would a guy use to keep something from slipping by? 

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I have a budget spreadsheet that I use to keep track of when my bills and loan payments are due, and I pay my credit cards in full each month most of the time.  I only have 8 to keep track of, counting my wife's cards, but every two weeks on payday I check the balance on each one, when I sit down to pay the bills.  I also keep track of the payoff balance on the loans, and when quarterly or annual expenses will come up. I normally use just one credit card at a time, but this time of year we have a lot of holiday shopping that we don't want eachother to see so it's spread around a bit.

I use USAA for my banking, and one of the services they offer is account linking for credit cards.  So, my main screen on USAA shows the balances of all cards.  The billpay portion remonds me if a payment is due for any ebill I've signed up for, or bills that I set a reminder for.

I think the risks involved with having dozens of cards outweigh the benefits, and prefer to keep it simple.  

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Try Mint.com

[Anonymous]

Most people with a lot of cards don't use them all the time. For example i use my us bank cash+ for dining only. Because i know that will never spend 7k on eating out a month i just set it to autopay, use it whenever i dine to get the points and never look at it.
You should have all your cards set to autopay the full statement balance. Then you can make extra payments to your workhorse card if you want to report lower utilization etc

[NRB525]

If you aren't comfortable charging a lot on cards, then just shift to paying for gas and groceries on the cards you do have. The number of cards you have is sufficient. What you are looking for is activity on those existing cards.

You can log in to your CCC account and they all have Autopayment that you can set up. You set up your checking account(s) as a source for them to draw on, tell the card account whether you want to pull only the minimum payment, the full amount on the statement balance, or some amount in between (except Chase for some unknown reason) and they will time the request for payment from your checking account bank so you should never miss a CC payment. You still need to monitor the charges, but that takes out the worry of missing a payment.

I use Microsoft Money, no longer available, Quicken would be the replacement on a PC, but that requires a commitment of time to setup and manage that it sounds like you may not want to incur. You'd rather spend time with your grill, and that's a good idea.

So I can't suggest you get any more credit cards. It is a personal choice about what you want to spend your time on and where your priorities are. Since your priorities are just to not miss the payment, check out the autopay and enjoy!