I’m charging everything these days. That’s right, I use a credit card as my method of payment for virtually every purchase. I’m not overspending, and I’m not going into debt. I’m actually earning money AND making it easier to keep my wife and I on the same page regarding our checking account.
It’s not just any credit card I use, it’s one that has a cashback rewards program. By using the credit card for every possible purchase, we earn cash back. We keep a running total of the amount spent for the week, and then once a week we make one payment from our checking account for that amount.
Here’s more detail on how this works:
Budget
We get paid on the 1st and 15th of the month. We pay the bills for that budget cycle and then determine the funds we have for groceries, gas, and discretionary spending.
Spending Plan
My wife and I discuss purchases before they’re made. A list is made before grocery shopping, menus are viewed before dining out, and other purchases are discussed beforehand. We know what we’re going to spend before we spend it. Every possible purchase is made with a single credit card with a cash back rewards program.
Keep Receipts
“Do you want your receipt?” The answer is yes. Every time. The receipts go into a specific spot in a kitchen drawer until they’ve been completely processed.
Stay On Budget
Every day, or in some cases every other day, we discuss what we’ve spent. We reconcile the receipts with the transactions on the credit card as well as where we are with respect to our budget.
Payback
On Sunday, the total spent over the course of the week is paid to the credit card. My wife and I then reconcile our checking out with any bills that were paid and the one lump sump weekly spending amount.
We’re not going on sprees, we’re simply using a different method of payment initialy. Everything is paid for using funds from our checking account at the end of the week. Using this method we earn cash back from our credit card, still stay on budget and reduce checking account transactions making reconciliation easier.
How about you, EOD Nation, do you utilize a cash back rewards program by making many of your purchases with a credit card?
