S/O..cash or credit?

[alien_host]

So how do you pay for most of your expenses? I'm talking about lunch out, coffee, groceries, clothing and probably not monthly bills.

I prefer to use my credit card for almost everything that I can since we earn rewards. I do use cash for small expenses b/c I feel bad about charging a few bucks for a $2 coffee or a $3 greeting card. I pay in full each month.

I feel like I lose track of what I spend with actual cash.

DH uses cash for lunch at the office, incidentals etc.

let me try a poll.....

[Babymakes3]

We get cashback on our card and it's easiest for us to track our spending by just using a credit card for everything. It also gets paid off every month.

It's very rare that I have a purchase for only a couple of dollars but say if we were getting fast food or something we pay cash. If i'm at Tjmaxx and spend like $12 on something I use the cc. I don't like to carry cash so I normally have no more than about $20 on me at a time.

[SnuggleBuggles]

For a few months I was doing cash for groceries and eating out. I loved it b/c I really paid attention. I mostly use my debit card. Dh and I talk about switching to all credit card so we can earn something (paid off monthly, of course) but I left it to him. See the money handling thread and you will understand why it hasn't happened yet.:rolleyes:

Beth

[DietCokeLover]

DH and I are in the midst of going through the Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. We used to use our credit cards for everything, but now we are working on using cash or debit cards and are getting rid of our credit cards all together.

[mommylamb]

I use a credit card for almost every purchase over $10. We get cash back for our card and we pay it off in full each month.

[egoldber]

We use our credit cards for almost everything we can (whether it's $1 or $100) and pay them off monthly. We get airline miles and we use them. :)

The only thing I use my check book for is school related things where they don't take credit cards: Girl Scout stuff, preschool lunches, etc.

I use cash pretty much only to pay my cleaners and to reimburse others when eating out.

ETA: This works for us because neither DH nor I are impulse shoppers. If we were, it would be a different story.

[wellyes]

Credit cards for EVERYTHING for 2% cash back award to DD's 529. Except small purchases from local merchants since I know the fees can be a burden on them.

I have no hesitation charging $5 or less at a chain store or fast food place.

Always pay off in full.

[AnnieW625]

I do a little bit of everything. At the cafe @ DD's ballet school I use my credit card to buy a $20 gift card so I never have to remember to bring cash. It's really the only time I buy coffee.

We use our major credit cards for anything over $50 or for stuff we need towards the end of the month (we get paid once a month). We also use dept. store cards, but only at that specific store. We pay our cards off monthly.

We only use the atm at the bank or as an auto pay link to our checking account for monthly services that require a credit card (except the gym is tied to the Amex).

When I am working I give myself a $25 per week allowance for food/incidentals. I chose $25 a week when I was commuting in college and it was easier to eat on campus than to bring a full lunch. It's rare that I will spend all if that money on lunch during one week though as I usually just bring my lunch.

[vonfirmath]

I use a credit card for almost every purchase over $10. We get cash back for our card and we pay it off in full each month.

I found, even with paying back the card every month, I spent more money when I was using credit than when I stick to cash only. So I have tried to stick to cash only for everyday expenses and use the cashback credit card only for large planned expenses. yes, this means our cashback is less. But we also end up with more money in the bank at the end of the month, a tradeoff I'm willing to make.

[HIU8]

I found, even with paying back the card every month, I spent more money when I was using credit than when I stick to cash only. So I have tried to stick to cash only for everyday expenses and use the cashback credit card only for large planned expenses. yes, this means our cashback is less. But we also end up with more money in the bank at the end of the month, a tradeoff I'm willing to make.

:yeahthat: We had been using a mix of cash and credit, but are now learning a very hard lesson about credit and will no longer be using a credit card for ANYTHING. It's cash/debit card only. If we don't have it, we won't get it. It's going to be tough for DH who has never lived this way. I have and we will not be able to do/have as much, but I'm ok with that and DH--well, he doesn't have a choice anymore.

[cvanbrunt]

Everything on our one credit card that paid in full every month. I usually spend about 20 bucks cash a month in cash on stuff like coffee or a rare order of cheese fries at the mall.

[Penny's Pappa]

Our debit card is backed by MasterCard and we get reward points if we use it as a credit card, so that's what we do for our everyday purchases. For more expensive items, we use a traditional credit card. I typically carry little to no cash.

[ThreeofUs]

I use a credit card to track my spending - I even use it for bills. I pay it off in full every month, and it's a "miles" card so we get something for our trouble.

[maiaann]

We use credit here too. I like some cash on me for small incidentals, but almost everything goes on the credit card and we pay it off at the end of the month.

[belovedgandp]

I charge almost everything - groceries, family meals out, Target runs.

DH and I both have a set amount of "fun" money that we get out in cash each month this covers lunches out, snacks, toys for us, activities I do during the week with the kids and those we do as a family on weekends.

[ehlana06]

We use our debit for basically everything. I don't like carrying cash and it's easier to keep track of our spending when I use our checking account. We live on a pretty tight budget during the winter and had to do some financial counceling to get our finances back in order. We no longer use credit cards of any kind.

[hillview]

Credit and pay it off monthly.
/hillary

[wolverine2]

We're also doing Dave Ramsey, and haven't used a credit card since November- hoping to eliminate them entirely. We can't trust ourselves with them, and I've become more aware and disgusted with the whole credit industry. We've experimented w/ using cash in an envelope system to buy groceries and such, but we're more often using the debit card for everything. Still figuring it out.

[soontobe]

we use our cash back amex card for everything that will take it. rent only takes check:( and a few other things only take cash, besides that it's amex paid in full at the end of the month

[3blackcats]

So how do you pay for most of your expenses? I'm talking about lunch out, coffee, groceries, clothing and probably not monthly bills.

I prefer to use my credit card for almost everything that I can since we earn rewards. I do use cash for small expenses b/c I feel bad about charging a few bucks for a $2 coffee or a $3 greeting card. I pay in full each month.

I feel like I lose track of what I spend with actual cash.

DH uses cash for lunch at the office, incidentals etc.

let me try a poll.....

:yeahthat:
I use it for everything. Even the smallest things. Not often do I carry cash. Way too hard to keep track of.

[mommylamb]

I found, even with paying back the card every month, I spent more money when I was using credit than when I stick to cash only. So I have tried to stick to cash only for everyday expenses and use the cashback credit card only for large planned expenses. yes, this means our cashback is less. But we also end up with more money in the bank at the end of the month, a tradeoff I'm willing to make.

That has never been a problem for us. In fact, I'm the exact opposite. If I have cash it seems to just disappear out of my wallet and I can't remember what I spent it on. I check my credit card on line every few days so I keep a handle on how much we've spent and we can adjust accordingly. Using cash for most purchases would be really bad for us.

ETA: I'm also concerned about using a debit card because you're in a much more difficult position if someone somehow gets a hold of it. With a credit card it's much easier to contest something and stop a payment. Someone who used to work for me used his debit card once at a hotel we were staying at for work for incidentals. He didn't have a credit card. They were supposed to charge his room to our master account. They didn't. This was a hotel where the rooms are $500 a night and we were there for a week. Needless to say when he got back and tried to use his debit card he realized he was overdrawn. While the hotel finally corrected it and refunded the money, he was BROKE for weeks in the meantime. I was lending him money so he could eat. This would have never happened with a credit card.

[peanut520]

strictly our credit card and paid in full monthly. we get cash back so it is like getting everything on sale, but seriously it is easier for us to track spending.

[kijip]

We use our credit cards for almost everything we can (whether it's $1 or $100) and pay them off monthly. We get airline miles and we use them. :)

The only thing I use my check book for is school related things where they don't take credit cards: Girl Scout stuff, preschool lunches, etc.

I use cash pretty much only to pay my cleaners and to reimburse others when eating out.

ETA: This works for us because neither DH nor I are impulse shoppers. If we were, it would be a different story.

this is us, right down to the not being impulse shoppers. Well, we don't have girl scouts :P Nearly every line in my check register says "School". I also have a text alert sent to my phone when our balance passes a certain amount (about 1/4 of the limit on the card and about $250 less than we can pay off in full each month and still stay on budget for everything else (savings, investments).

If I am making a larger donation I will write a check to spare the charity the fee. We do use our debit at Costco. Sometime we get cash for some things, but mostly it is credit. Our rewards buy most of our holiday/b-day presents for our kids and a few other people.

[MontrealMum]

We live in Canada so cashback and other cc options are much different here. That said, we use debit cards for most things - we're in the test market for Interac, way back in the 90's LOL so we really got used to not carrying cash. And we use one particular card for Airmiles rewards. We then turn around and buy things (used to be diapers!) with the Airmiles. We pay in full each month. All other cc are used only online, and not often.

There are NO local places that accept cheques these days (big city) but I do sometimes have to pay membership fees for professional associations by cheque. If they don't allow CC online.

[klwa]

Credit card for just about everything (including those $2-3 dollar purchases), but it's always paid off at the end of the month.

[lchang25000]

Credit and pay it off monthly.
/hillary

:yeahthat: Love all the miles we accumulate on the card!

[baymom]

Credit card for almost everything, and pay it off in full every month. We get 2% back on one and miles on the other. We don't have any store credit cards. I only use cash to pay the cleaners and for gas.