I was thinking along the lines of that if I didn't have these Bill's connected to my credit card, my balance each month would be close to nothing once I got it paid off. I rarely use it. I only have one credit card so can't transfer the balance.Originally Posted by Gardnr
Once you go through a cc cycle with a $0 balance, you don't pay any interest at all on your current month's purchases / bills as long as you pay the statement balance in full by the due date. In that case, it's simply a convenience to have your bills go to one place, and with the right card you can even get a bit of a rebate from the cc company.
You are right, though, in thinking that as long as you're carrying an unpaid balance on the card from month to month, you're paying unnecessary interest on those bills.
Ugh! Make that four months to get out of debt. Just got my bill yesterday and forgot I paid for AHL hockey tickets and hotel room when we go to PA in April.
I do many auto-payments, for smaller type bills.
But because I'm an independent contractor with variable income, I prefer NOT to put bills larger than around $200 on Autopay because if I have to tweak the payment date by a few days I can more easily do it by manual pay.
However, Autopay definitely helps keep my mental slate clean and gives me peace of mind that I won't get slapped with a late fee if I forget a payment due date by only one day.
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Thought: sometimes when I don't want a bigger than necessary debit from my account, I will make a payment right before auto-pay is set to come out. So although you're carrying a balance, your interest will not be horrid for it.
If I had savings to pay off the balance, I would do it now even from my emergency fund. I would then have my CC to fund an emergency.
It's a matter of convenience and preference. I have no interest in giving up auto-pay. It's really a matter of how you want to be paying bills in 5 months.
Husband and I each only have one credit card and we only use it for emergencies or large online purchases. My bill is only high because we literally redid almost every room in our house with flooring, paint, and furniture. We didn't buy cheap stuff because we wanted longevity out of everything we bought. Normally, my balance is maybe $200-$300 a month between auto pay stuff and random purchases.
I am old school. I prefer not to use the card for the things that the credit card company, keeps sending me offers to use it for (gas, grocery, restaurants), as it builds into their database about me. (where the things I do use it for, includes a lot of work stuff, which skews those)
I don't do electronic banking or link things electronically to my account. (helped with enough computer illiterate people, that have done stupid things, I realize no matter how I try to keep up, there is always someone WAY ahead of me) Also know of some problems people have had when they canceled autopay.
I do have one cc and one dc. Because I only have one cc, I know what my limit is, and haven't had it raised in years (last time they asked for information to raise it, I declined, saying that is enough). You have a limit, which might be a big factor for you, in this decision, especially if your getting ready to use it for travel (cars, plane tickets, etc). I am close enough to "pay stations" or my internet provider, that I can just go pay it, if I am going to be close on mailing it. (last time I ran out of checks)
Best thing is just make a list of your pro's and cons, and use it for your basis.
Decided to switch autopay from the credit card to our checking account. That way, I can keep the ease of auto pay and get rid of having a monthly balance on my card once it is paid off.
K, that’s what I do.
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