Total annual credit card usage

[HundredK]

I decided to look at mine after all. $87,500 on the card we used for most items through the year. According to the stats provided on the cc website, the overwhelming majority of it was for airfare and travel (almost all work related). Actually lower than I expected!

FYI - none of this became part of our debt. This was all paid for immediately with no finance charges or anything like that.

[Nutria]

FYI - none of this became part of our debt.

It didn't even cross our minds...

This was all paid for immediately with no finance charges or anything like that.

Does your company reimburse you that quickly?

[disneysteve]

Does your company reimburse you that quickly?

She and her husband are the company.

[corn18]

Just shy of $170k on my personal cards. Just north of $120k on my work Amex (I get the rewards for that as well).

[Nutria]

She and her husband are the company.

Rapid payment requires regular cash flow, which can be tricky for very small companies.

[StormRichards]

Most people on SA (who aren't CCF) look to maximize CC usage!! (To get the bonus points, of course, without paying interest.)

You are confused because you are making an assumption that our spending shifted from CC usage to another form of payment. That is not the case. We use our CCs for everything that doesn't result in a service fee for that form of payment.

Our 2016 total is on the low end because we spent less, and that is a good thing in my book.

[Nutria]

You are confused because you are making an assumption that our spending shifted from CC usage to another form of payment. That is not the case. We use our CCs for everything that doesn't result in a service fee for that form of payment.

Our 2016 total is on the low end because we spent less, and that is a good thing in my book.

Well, this thread is titled Total annual credit card usage, not "total annual spending".

[HundredK]

Rapid payment requires regular cash flow, which can be tricky for very small companies.

We are fortunate to have excellent clients. Plus a day job. :-)

[StormRichards]

Well, this thread is titled Total annual credit card usage, not "total annual spending".

Correct, but I don't see anyone else posting percentages and I am certain that no one here is putting 100% of their spending on credit cards.

[disneysteve]

Correct, but I don't see anyone else posting percentages and I am certain that no one here is putting 100% of their spending on credit cards.

Correct. My thread wasn't intended to do anything but look at how much we used our credit cards. It wasn't in relationship to income or overall spending or anything else. It was just a simple look at how much we charged.

[scfr]

$27K, which to my mind was a massive amount.

$19K of that was for post-hail-storm home repairs (new roof, gutters, screens, paint, etc.). Received insurance payout first, then contracted for repairs.

[Nutria]

Correct, but I don't see anyone else posting percentages

• "Day to day" spending is pretty steady state (even rising with inflation).
• People on this forum like to "share" Exceptional Life Events ("we travel a lot on business" or "large hail storm expenses" or "we stopped living beyond our means", etc).

Thus, is the absence of any qualifications, it's reasonable (though obviously not obligatory) to expect that your CC spending levels would stay the same

and I am certain that no one here is putting 100% of their spending on credit cards.

I would if I could!

[StormRichards]

• "Day to day" spending is pretty steady state (even rising with inflation).
• People on this forum like to "share" Exceptional Life Events ("we travel a lot on business" or "large hail storm expenses" or "we stopped living beyond our means", etc).

Thus, is the absence of any qualifications, it's reasonable (though obviously not obligatory) to expect that your CC spending levels would stay the same



I would if I could!

Considering this is a forum for people wanting saving advice (hence the name), it's reasonable for see people's credit card spending decrease year to year. And not just in cases where people were previously living beyond their means.

[disneysteve]

Considering this is a forum for people wanting saving advice (hence the name), it's reasonable for see people's credit card spending decrease year to year.

Not necessarily. I consider it a win any time I find something new that can be paid for by credit rather than by cash or check. That means more rewards for me.

I was upset this summer when my daughter's college announced that they would now impose a fee for paying tuition with a credit card. Previously, there was no fee so I happily charged every penny of it. My credit card spending for 2017 will be a lot lower than 2016 not because we will spend less money - we will likely spend more - but because less of it will be spent on a credit card, which isn't a good thing in my mind.

[StormRichards]

Not necessarily. I consider it a win any time I find something new that can be paid for by credit rather than by cash or check. That means more rewards for me.

I was upset this summer when my daughter's college announced that they would now impose a fee for paying tuition with a credit card. Previously, there was no fee so I happily charged every penny of it. My credit card spending for 2017 will be a lot lower than 2016 not because we will spend less money - we will likely spend more - but because less of it will be spent on a credit card, which isn't a good thing in my mind.

We handle our expenses the same way. I just don't believe that it is a logical assumption that someone charging less is doing so because of choice of payment method. We charge absolutely everything that we are able to charge. It seemed ridiculous to the cashier, but I had a 5 cent charge in 2016. It was at a drugstore and I had reward money available. After that was applied, the total dropped down to $.05 and I pulled out my card and swiped.