Hello everyone in the Fix Your Credit Consulting community! Today we will be exploring the topic of budgeting and how to best utilize your credit cards to keep control of your expenditures.
During these uncertain times it is more important than ever to budget your expenses. Often we find ourselves at the end of the month having spent way more than we initially intended and we ask ourselves: “Where did all the money go?” Well, we don’t have the answer to that but we do have the answer to how you can keep a better handle on your expenses and ensure you aren’t spending more than you can afford.
A budget can help you make sure you spend within your means and aren’t using too much money on luxury items while ensuring the essentials still get purchased. If done correctly, it can also ensure that you have enough saved to cover extra necessities in case of an emergency.
Sticking to a budget can be difficult when having to deal with multiple checkbooks, cash, and all of the other forms of spending at our disposal. But using your credit card can make it easy!
If you pay all of your bills with a single credit card it can make it easy to see what the total cost of your bills are every month by just looking at your credit report or credit card statement. Some credit card companies even offer tools on their website that will break down your bill by category so you can see exactly how much you spend on groceries, bills, etc. If you utilize these tools and and make all of your personal expenses using a credit card you’ll be able to easily break down how much you spend at each store and identify places where you can cut down spending. The trick for these strategies is to be sure to pay off your credit card in full every month. This will keep your balances low and your credit scores high!
An additional benefit of using a credit card for these purchases is that you can review your spending habits on a weekly or monthly basis and easily track how effective your adjustments to your spending habits are.
Depending on your credit card provider, they might offer you the ability to set up spending limit alerts via their online portal. These are alerts that will be sent to your email or phone to let you know when you are close to reaching whatever limit you have set for yourself for the week or month. Alerts like these are a great way to keep you within your budget.
If you feel like you have the time and capacity to track your spending on more than one card, spreading out purchases via multiple lines of credit can lead to great benefits. For example you can use one card for groceries and dedicate another card for bills, and yet another for luxury items etc. This can be incredibly helpful for tracking your various expenses, and if you coordinate your cards to use the one with the best bonus points and rewards for each category you can help reduce your spending even further. As long as you are paying them all off, having spending history on multiple cards will also help boost your credit score and will allow you to more easily ask for higher limits in the future.
If you would like more tips on how to best utilize your credit cards, you can call us at 877-212-2450 and one of our consultants will be happy to talk to you!
If you have any questions, feel free to give us a call at 877-212-2450!
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