in response to the topic
we don't put everything on the credit card.
but i make payments as often as possible as there is not need for me waiting til the end of the month.

we're on the cash/credit card system.

we use cash for
Hobbies /Shopping $
weekly entertainment (once a week we meet with my in-laws for Chinese)
Groceries

Credit card for
Fuel
everything else

the system was initially designed to have other expenses made via debit card but quickly switched to cc for the rewards and charge back capabilities.

We have about 9 credit cards but only use a discover card as the main horse and carry a BoA visa just in case we go someplace like my Car Service place that don't take Discover.
I have all the cards except for the discover on a monthly rotation. Every 1st of the month my calendar "announces" the card of the month which I take with me for my next fill up and the card gets paid when i get to a computer or my phone. this way I keep the cards active as well as our history going. All is well for me as I worship at the alter of FICO.

in response to the topic
we don't put everything on the credit card.
but i make payments as often as possible as there is not need for me waiting til the end of the month.

we're on the cash/credit card system.

we use cash for
Hobbies /Shopping $
weekly entertainment (once a week we meet with my in-laws for Chinese)
Groceries

Credit card for
Fuel
everything else

the system was initially designed to have other expenses made via debit card but quickly switched to cc for the rewards and charge back capabilities.

We have about 9 credit cards but only use a discover card as the main horse and carry a BoA visa just in case we go someplace like my Car Service place that don't take Discover.
I have all the cards except for the discover on a monthly rotation. Every 1st of the month my calendar "announces" the card of the month which I take with me for my next fill up and the card gets paid when i get to a computer or my phone. this way I keep the cards active as well as our history going. All is well for me as I worship at the alter of FICO.

Why do you pay cash for groceries? That is one of the best ways to get cc rewards!

I NEVER carry a balance or pay interest but try to put almost everything on a credit card for many reasons.

No good reason just a habit of going to the bank and taking out the same amount for nearly 3 years. Now that I think i need a raise for my pocket $ I'll bring it up to congress and see what she says.

Of course I also have a credit card because getting in credit card in Minnesota is not very hard. I am of the opinion that a credit card spending plan is very important. I also have one and it works perfectly for me. I always stick to the plan and due to this there are no rude surprise at the end of the month.

Where's the poll option for:

I have 200K worth of credit cards, bought 200K worth of stuff and then went overseas where my credit score is meaningless?

That's on another forum! I've actually seen that very question asked. It was only $40000 but the question was almost identical. The guy planned to charge and skip.

I hope he got caught!

Probably is more common for student loans.

Person in college going through the standard motions -- racking up 50K-100K in student loans so they can be an indentured servant for the rest of their lives. But in college, there's that thing called foreign exchange students. Fall in love, marry, move to a different country to start a new life. I'm sure on some level they know they've bailed on their debt obligations but out of mind, out of sight.

A guy I used to work with was from India though he had lived in the US since teh 1950s and was a US citizen. He hardly saved any money and planned to retire to India. His family had a modest amount of money (though probably not millionaires). Between that, his government pension, and social security he could live like a king he said. He did not save much because he did not need to.

He did not rack up debt and plan to skip on it but he certainly didn't have a lot of concerns about that kind of thing.

I could see someone close to retiurement calmly moving their money out of teh country and building a retirment fund by borrowing and then skipping on it to live in a low cost area.

I hope the creditors cut into their pension plans if they do that.

Since pension plans are safe from creditors, retirees don't even need to head overseas to pull this tactic. They can do it here in the U.S.

True...to a point. But retirement plans are NOT protected from siezure if there is fraudulent conveyance or other criminal activity. I would not try it here!

There was an attempt several years ago for states to tax "source income" from retirement plans but that was shut down by the courts. In essence, if you had spent your entire career working in California where taxes are relatively high and then moved to Nevada (where there are no income taxes) to retire, California would continue to tax you because the source of your income was in California. But the courts said that was not allowed.

If you have US retirement plans and then retire overseas to avoid the taxes, you will be thwarted. The US will withhold taxes when you withdraw from retirement plans. That is another reason to invest outside of retirement accounts. You can legally avoid some taxes by expatriating the assets before selling. You can also avoid US taxes in some situations. It is not something I plan to do but people with substantial assets do this frequently (sometimes illegally of course but often through completely legal methods). There are even a few large American companies that have moved offshore recently for tax reasons.

Wow! I can't believe people would skip out on 200k worth of CC debt (actually I can!) It's just amazing that they would think it's okay!?

But on the original topic:

Credit card spending, like so many things in life has options, variables, decisions around it that you can decide to make.

Who says you SHOULD spend everything on a credit card instead of cash? (Quit "shoulding" on yourself, it's really a bad habit!)

Instead if you are aware that something works better than other things for yourself, then be okay with that.

For example: I know that I don't like to get up early in the morning, so I have structured my day to allow me to sleep in. Other people might say, "Well you should wake up early, or you'll be wasting your day!" To which I respond and tell them I do my best work in the evening...I am aware of what works for me!!

I also don't do well with the idea of discipline, it feels very "forced" and feels like I will be doing something that isn't in alignment with who I am. I prefer to make a choice about my decisions, not to HAVE to be disciplined because I've been bad.

Everyone is different, and if you miss out on the rewards points, you won't die, you won't melt, and you won't create a nuclear holocaust. You can save in other ways, like on interest that you would have paid on the credit cards if you continue to use them.

There is no cookie cutter system when it comes to finances. Know what works best for you!

My two-nickels worth!! Many Adventures!!

When I use my credit card I make sure that I can able to pay my bills, I control my spending habits to avoid huge bills & debt.

I use my credit card to enable free spending. I am saving plenty, and both my wife and I have a natural frugality (if not cheapness) that has yet to let us spend more than we earned.