anyone use "mint.com"
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From: Columbia, SC
Originally Posted by Lainey,Jan 5 2011, 03:45 PM
I know many of you use CCs or Debit cards for everything. I find it easier to spend less by using $ for eating out, (which pretty much is our entertainment), and planning in advance how much money is to be allocated.
If we take "X" from the ATM once a week, we're pretty good about staying within that amount. If we used a CC or Debit card, I somehow think we'd spend more.
Sure, on occasion, we want to do something different, or go out an extra time. In those cases I'll do an additional "zap" at the ATM, but mostly we spend what's in the pocket, and go to places within our set price range.
If we take "X" from the ATM once a week, we're pretty good about staying within that amount. If we used a CC or Debit card, I somehow think we'd spend more.
Sure, on occasion, we want to do something different, or go out an extra time. In those cases I'll do an additional "zap" at the ATM, but mostly we spend what's in the pocket, and go to places within our set price range.
If I've got cash, it's easy to lose track of what I've spent, and it seems to go quicker. It's not so much that it burns a hole in my pocket (as in, I've got it so I should spend it), as it is that I lose track of how much I've spent and where it went.
With the credit card, I'm always mindful of the large bill coming at the end of the month. I hate the credit card bill, so I'm always striving to keep it as low as possible. Either way, it always gets paid on time and in full. I don't pay fees or interest.
For me, the best part of charging everything is being able to track spending. It's easy to download my statement and quickly categorize purchases to track things in a spreadsheet such as food (grocery vs. restaurants), fuel, home stuff, entertainment, etc.
This thread clued me in to Mint.com. This looks like a great site. I do a lot of what it does in a couple of spreadsheets, but this looks easier (although, I still like the history in my spreadsheets). I'm going to continue to check it out.
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Originally Posted by zzziippyyy,Jan 5 2011, 08:14 PM
Not even a coffee at DD on the way to work in the am?
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Originally Posted by 00CivicSi,Jan 6 2011, 09:32 AM
I'm the opposite.
If I've got cash, it's easy to lose track of what I've spent, and it seems to go quicker. It's not so much that it burns a hole in my pocket (as in, I've got it so I should spend it), as it is that I lose track of how much I've spent and where it went.
With the credit card, I'm always mindful of the large bill coming at the end of the month. I hate the credit card bill, so I'm always striving to keep it as low as possible. Either way, it always gets paid on time and in full. I don't pay fees or interest.
For me, the best part of charging everything is being able to track spending. It's easy to download my statement and quickly categorize purchases to track things in a spreadsheet such as food (grocery vs. restaurants), fuel, home stuff, entertainment, etc.
This thread clued me in to Mint.com. This looks like a great site. I do a lot of what it does in a couple of spreadsheets, but this looks easier (although, I still like the history in my spreadsheets). I'm going to continue to check it out.
If I've got cash, it's easy to lose track of what I've spent, and it seems to go quicker. It's not so much that it burns a hole in my pocket (as in, I've got it so I should spend it), as it is that I lose track of how much I've spent and where it went.
With the credit card, I'm always mindful of the large bill coming at the end of the month. I hate the credit card bill, so I'm always striving to keep it as low as possible. Either way, it always gets paid on time and in full. I don't pay fees or interest.
For me, the best part of charging everything is being able to track spending. It's easy to download my statement and quickly categorize purchases to track things in a spreadsheet such as food (grocery vs. restaurants), fuel, home stuff, entertainment, etc.
This thread clued me in to Mint.com. This looks like a great site. I do a lot of what it does in a couple of spreadsheets, but this looks easier (although, I still like the history in my spreadsheets). I'm going to continue to check it out.
With mint.com I see all my spending within a day and I know how I'm doing with my budget. With cash I could spend it on a coffee here, onion rings there, some random hooker and bubble and I would forget the next day what I bought.
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I use it religiously. The good thing is you can get real time update on your smartphone and if you under spent one month, what ever is left get roll up to the next month and if you over spent, it will reduce the budget in the next month. Of course, by category.
The summary page is very neat. It shows you if you running behind or ahead of your budgets.
It also sends you emails to remind you if you over spent and a weekly snap shoot on all your accounts. It is pretty cool.
The summary page is very neat. It shows you if you running behind or ahead of your budgets.
It also sends you emails to remind you if you over spent and a weekly snap shoot on all your accounts. It is pretty cool.
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From: Smalltown
Originally Posted by jtpassat,Jan 6 2011, 11:08 AM
With cash I could spend it on a coffee here, ........... some random hooker and bubble and I would forget the next day what I bought.
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From: On yo puter screen
For me budgeting is real easy, I give myself a weekly allowance. Its in cash and since I'm old school and I have an emotional attachment to cash it's pretty hard for me to let go of it. Let's just put it this way I usually have a lot of weeks of unspent allowance's adding up 
The second thing is, if I cannot pay cash for something I won't buy it, the only exception is another house. Every other purchase falls under this rule including any future cars. Yes I do use my credit card at times but when I do I take cash and put it aside as I spend on the card to pay the bill when it comes in.
My parents were dirt poor and I always said when I grew up I would not follow that path, hell I still got allowances my dad gave me growing up. Granted I only got a quarter a week back than but i still got some of them socked away and that was over 40 years ago.
Funny thing is I just found out most of those quarters are all silver
I wonder how many others do this?
The second thing is, if I cannot pay cash for something I won't buy it, the only exception is another house. Every other purchase falls under this rule including any future cars. Yes I do use my credit card at times but when I do I take cash and put it aside as I spend on the card to pay the bill when it comes in.
My parents were dirt poor and I always said when I grew up I would not follow that path, hell I still got allowances my dad gave me growing up. Granted I only got a quarter a week back than but i still got some of them socked away and that was over 40 years ago.
Funny thing is I just found out most of those quarters are all silver
I wonder how many others do this?
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cash is dead!!! with my credit card I get 2% back on EVERY purchase. You may think ehh.. 2% isn't much but how much does cash give you back?
And yes, I pay my CC bill completely at the end of the month or else that 2% deal is useless.
And yes, I pay my CC bill completely at the end of the month or else that 2% deal is useless.
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Originally Posted by 00CivicSi,Jan 7 2011, 12:04 PM
Edit: Oh, and one of my favorite benefits of cards over cash... NOT HAVING TO GO INTO THE CONVENIENCE STORE TO PAY FOR GAS! I stopped doing this over a decade ago. My parents still do this (sometimes twice, if they need to go back for change. 
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