@wingennis wrote:I struggled financially after I left the service. I joined at 17 and got out at 30. I never learned basic facts of being a card-carrying grownup like you have to pay for water, electricity, and for people to come pick up your trash. I got behind, I got depressed, I gave up and everything went into collections. I wasn't just living paycheck to paycheck-each check was already gone before I earned it. I lived like that for years until I took control again. I lived without everything fun or delicious and paid back every penny. My scores were depressed for years and I couldn't even get predatory lenders to give me cards. I've pulled myself out of that and after 7 painful years rebuilding my credit scores are great and my record is clean. I have 180k of credit from major lendors now and I'm so proud of what I've accomplished. I've developed a bit of a neurosis about being in debt, though. Seeing a balance on my cards hurts psychologically.
One way I feel in control is to pay charges when they post. I use the credit cards I have because they are rewards cards and I benefit from using them instead of my debit card. I don't just use them for major purchases. I can't be alone in having this kind of debt anxiety so this is one reason we pay as we go.
Thanks for sharing your story. I can easily relate. I left home at 16, got married at 17 (no, I didn't HAVE to), and was very, very mature for my age. But I didn't have a clue about credit. My family did not believe in credit or debt--they thought those were evil. Their feelings were molded by their experience, or their parents' experience, in the Great Depression, losing everything and having to start over. So I never saw or knew about credit cards, car loans, mortgages, etc.--they paid for everything with a check.
My husband is 7 years older than me, and was in the Air Force when we met. Unfortunately--and I wrote a long rambling thread about this on the 'relationships' board--he and I are diametrically opposed when it comes to finances, responsibility, budgeting, etc. My first life-threatening illness, at 21, left us with ruined credit, not a penny to our names, filing bankruptcy, and then scraping and scrounging to rebuild for the next few years. THAT was it for me. I vowed NEVER AGAIN.
I literally know what it's like not to be able to keep the electricity on, or the water or gas or whatever. So as you read my posts, please keep in mind that I've BEEN THERE. I've been at the very bottom, well, ALMOST--at least we were never homeless, though we came close. Somehow, we always managed to scrape together the rent, but late...always late... I'm not sitting here like a queen on her throne, talking down to her minions! I've been as broke as you can be, and it's what made me the person I am today.
@Kforce wrote:*** I am answering cold, without reading the next 20+ answers, so many of my items will have been covered.
1) Some people just hate to be in debt, and pay as soon as they see it.
They also pay the electric, gas, water, etc the day it post or comes in the mail.
The float is not important, being debt free is!
2) Some want the same info reporting every month to keep "Fico" scores high and see any change in credit
3) Some have smaller CL's for what they spend and need to pay multiple time to use their cards.
4) Some find it convenient to pay when they get paid, (weekly, bi-weekly or monthly)
5) Some like a clean slate once a month, why use a spreadsheet and calculate future spending and current debt 30-60 days out? (Unless you love spreadsheets). They just pay off everything every month, and any extra they can invest, spend, burn, etc.
I fall into a combination of #'s (1,4,5) and this also helps with #2 just by coincidence
Thanks for your thoughts! This has been a very interesting and informative thread.
I'm somewhere on your list, too...kind of. Your #1 resonates with me, as I hate being in debt, and I pay *all* of my bills the day the statement arrives. Whether it's the electric bill or an Amex card, when the statement comes I head to BofA's billl pay and pay it.
If you should read the rest of this thread, you'll see that fluctuations in my scores don't bother me, so keeping them at EXACTLY the same figures, day to day or month to month, isn't a big deal to me. I see fluctuations as just a normal part of using credit. Now, if I needed to apply for credit for something BIG, like a Ferrari or a Lamborghini, I'd make sure my scores were at their absolute highest before submitting my application! 
@SoCalGardener I'm sorry you experienced that. It really sucks that you can't acquire wisdom without experiencing some suffering, too.
@wingennis wrote:@SoCalGardener I'm sorry you experienced that. It really sucks that you can't acquire wisdom without experiencing some suffering, too.
Thank you. That's very sweet. 
But you know what? I don't regret anything that happened, even though some of it was really, really awful. Without those experiences I wouldn't be the same person I am now. Having grown up in a privileged family, I never knew--firsthand--what it was like to worry about keeping a roof over your head, or how you're going to put food on the table. (I *never* asked my family for help. Matter of pride.) Now I do. And I use that firsthand knowledge to do what I can for others who are less fortunate.
What's that old saying? What doesn't kill us makes us stronger. Yep! It really works that way.