credit or cash

[disneysteve]

Probably weird, but I just don't like paying a big credit card bill, or any kind of bill for that matter.

I don't think that's weird. In fact, I think it's exactly what helps many of us keep our spending in line specifically by using credit cards for everything - the constant knowledge that we're going to have to pay that bill when it comes. "Do I really want to add this to the bill?" With just a couple of clicks, I can pull out my phone and check my current card balance. See that number growing during the month is a good motivation to not overspend.

Cash doesn't work that way to me. Once it's in my wallet, it's off the books. It no longer appears on my financial spreadsheet.

[Nutria]

Probably weird, but I just don't like paying a big credit card bill, or any kind of bill for that matter.

In addition to EOM, I usually pay the CC on Sunday, for all the charges that week, because our former huge pile of CC debt scared me off of having a big number in the bill.

[Jluke]

Don't know as I spend either more freely than the other, but I prefer to use cash and almost always carry $500 or more for incidental purchases.
Probably weird, but I just don't like paying a big credit card bill, or any kind of bill for that matter.

How many times a month do you withdraw the cash?

my cc bill is 1500-1800 per month.

I only use cash for haircuts.

[disneysteve]

How many times a month do you withdraw the cash?

my cc bill is 1500-1800 per month.

I only use cash for haircuts.

Our credit card bills run $3,000-4,000/month, sometimes more. No way would I want to be routinely handling and carrying that kind of cash.

[Fishindude77]

How many times a month do you withdraw the cash?

my cc bill is 1500-1800 per month.

I only use cash for haircuts.

Don't withdraw cash hardly ever. Several times per year we get large checks; payment for stock dividends, farm rentals, etc.
When making these deposits I'll typically keep a decent sum of cash to use for spending, and deposit the rest. It would not be unusual to have $10k or more cash stashed away and in our billfolds at any one time.

Even at that our CC bill still runs $2500-$4500 monthly.

[disneysteve]

I will say, though, that cash or credit really doesn't make a whole lot of difference to us as we aren't recreational shoppers. We buy stuff when we need it. We don't do a lot of random browsing. So ultimately, we spend what we spend and it really doesn't matter how we pay. Sometimes I really don't decide how I'm going to pay until I'm standing at the register - it doesn't enter into my decision of whether or not to buy something.

Much of what goes onto our credit card is spending that is going to happen no matter what - gas, groceries, insurance premiums, utility bills, medical expenses, etc. If we suddenly decided to stop using credit cards entirely, our spending really wouldn't change. It would just be tremendously less convenient, much harder to keep good spending records, and we would lose the hundreds of dollars in rewards that we earn each year. There's really not a single benefit I can think of to not using the cards.

[Nutria]

Our credit card bills run $3,000-4,000/month, sometimes more. No way would I want to be routinely handling and carrying that kind of cash.

Holy Moley, Batman!! Even with a wife and two teens, our monthly CC were never that high.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Holy Moley, Batman!! Even with a wife and two teens, our monthly CC were never that high.

Depends on where you live and what goes on it!

[Nutria]

Depends on where you live and what goes on it!

Of course. It's still a lot of money.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Of course. It's still a lot of money.

I used to think that. Until I realize that things hit all at once and suddenly you are $8k in. I had business expenses to the tune of $3k on the CC this month. Then two summer camps $2k. Then a VRBO for $800, $600 camp, then our utilites, $350 water, $200 electric, $135 piano lessons, $150 cell phones, $60 internet. Then suddenly I looked and it's $8k.

[ua_guy]

I carry some cash just to be prepared, but it can go months and months without being touched. I prefer to use my CC for the transaction log and paper trail, and the cash back I get from using it on everyday purchases.

I entered adulthood when spending money electronically and via card was commonplace so maybe that makes me a little different. I don't seem to have the spending-control issues that some people have by using "imaginary" money on a credit card versus physical cash. To me it doesn't make a difference if it's cash, check, or credit, it's all coming out of my account either way.

[disneysteve]

Holy Moley, Batman!! Even with a wife and two teens, our monthly CC were never that high.

Keep in mind that we put everything we possibly can on our CC. It isn't just a trip to the mall. It's groceries, gas, restaurants, travel, auto insurance, medical bills, cell phone, internet, Netflix, alarm monitoring, professional conferences and license fees (a lot of which gets reimbursed later), parking, tolls, auto repairs, home repairs, entertainment costs, etc.

Pre-COVID, we were spending about $7,000/month total. Thanks to COVID that dropped to about $5,000/month but the vast majority of that still goes on CCs.