Do you pay your credit card when you see it onlline or whn you get it i the mail
By suspenseful
@suspenseful (40192)
Canada
September 19, 2008 2:01pm CST
I get my credit card statement online a few days or a week before I get it in my mail. I have been trying to charge things to take advantage of the twenty=five day grace period, but now with Fall season starting and that I do not get my pension ten days after, I found that if I charge early, and something comes up later in the month, I cannot get it then even if it is on sale. And I am the type who will buy things after I paid in full for the last statement. So if I decided to pay before I get the mail statement a week later, I will buy something then, but if I wait until I get the statement and pay the statement then, I will buy somethng then.
So does when you see the statement and pay it either when you see it online or when you get it in the mail, determine when you should do the next month's purchases?
4 people like this
14 responses
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
22 Sep 08
I can usually pay the whole thing. If I do not, I start to worry that some horrible thing will happen - like not getting my pension check, someone robbing the bank, mylot going out of business. So I make sure that I have enough money in the bank plus more when I want to buy something and there is nothing else I need the money for.
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
30 Sep 08
When we go on a trip, we charge everything and for some reason, they send everything in at the last moment, so we get the credit card state for the trip usually a month later then we expected it. It makes it hard to figure out then, because by then we have some other things that need to get paid, like the water bill that is every three months comes after we come home from vacation. 
@revdauphinee (5703)
• United States
19 Sep 08
thankfully I don't use credit cards so that's one bill I never need to worry about
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
20 Sep 08
I find credit cards easier. I have to see everything I buy in one statement. You get those little cash receipts and it is hard to read it when the ink at the machine needs refilling. And sometimes the receipts are so small you need a magnifying glass. My statement has it so that they categorize everything so I can tell at a glance whether it is office equipment, snacks, clothes, etc.
1 person likes this
@revdauphinee (5703)
• United States
20 Sep 08
i believe credit cards to be the reason so many folks are over their heads in debt also this is why i refuse to use them if i cant afford to pay cash for it then i dont need it!
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
21 Sep 08
I do have the cash to pay for it, but I like getting the points and I also like getting the cash rebates. If I see something that I need that costs quite a bit, I will save the money for it and then transfer it into my credit card account when I have enough so I do not worry about a bill at the end of the month.
1 person likes this
@KrauseHome (36445)
• United States
22 Sep 08
We get these type of offers all of the time too. My husband usually collects about 10 or so a month that come for just him, not counting the ones that come for me, and the other type of offers out there as well. It is getting rediculous really considering what is really out there. Do they not Stop and think about the people who loose jobs, etc. all of the time as well?
Personally, we have one joint card, and then I have a Credit card of my own, and my husband has a Jc Penney's and I have a Macy's card. We are always trying to watch what we spend, and do not even look at all of the offers coming to us in the mail as well. When most of them are not as good as what we have, they must think they are fooling someone.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
30 Sep 08
I got some credit card offers the kind that looked too good to be true. They all had annual fees, even the classic ones. I do not need that. I am perfectly happy with my store credit card and my bank credit card and I always pay them off at the end of the month and my husband is happy with his Canadian Tire credit card and his bank credit card and we never have a balance on them.
@LittleMel (8742)
• Canada
21 Sep 08
I used to wait until I get it in the mail rather than seeing online statement
I don't like doing banking online and sometimes online statement is only updated every 3 days so it's better to wait until it gets in the mail before paying
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
22 Sep 08
I rather wait until I get it in the mail. At least, then I know that it will be updated and I do not have any unpleasant surprises. And I just go down to the Mall and pay it off then. I usually pay it as soon as I get it.
@checapricorn (16060)
• United States
30 Sep 08
[i]Hi suspenseful,
I have no credit card now but when I had it, I always pay it without waiting for the bill or mail, hubby does too!
But, sometimes when I was single and don't have cash right away, I will wait until the due date! LOL![/i]
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
30 Sep 08
I wait until the due date. I know when the bill arrives in the mail, so I usually have the amount written out because I check it online, and as soon as I figure out when the bill will arrive in the mail, I write the date on and then go down to the MALL and give it to the store.
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
22 Sep 08
You have to check to see if the site begins with https and also for that little padlock at the bottom. Oh yes and make sure that your password is so complicated, that you find it hard to remember and make sure it is someplace else like on a flash drive. The trouble is that people make financial passwords too easy to remember and that puts you in trouble.
@wsue1023 (1395)
• United States
20 Sep 08
I pay mine off every month, in full, online. About a year ago, Citi gave me an incentive to go paperless, so now I don't even get a paper statement by mail. Everything is done online.
The only risk there, is forgetting to pay, so I usually pay the day the statement arrives via email, or I pay on a set date each month, long before the due date.
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
22 Sep 08
I go to the local store for one credit card bill and pay it off there, the other one I just transfer from my bank account because it is a bank credit card. And I pay the first one when it comes in the mail, unless I need to buy something inbetween, but usually that is not the case.
@wolfie34 (26770)
• United Kingdom
20 Sep 08
I never bother looking online at my balance or my account, I do have an account, it's just I can't be bothered to go into it, so I am quite to happy to wait for the statement that comes through without fail every month! I send my cheque off with the statement more or less straight away otherwise it would get forgotten about, I usually have about two to three weeks to pay it, but I rather pay it straight away and get it out of the way.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
20 Sep 08
I check my account online because I am on a budget and I want to make sure I do not go over the limit of that $200 or less I set for myself. And I also want to make sure that I got the charges on it. I find that some stores wait until near the end of the month to send in their receipts and it gets frustrating when I planned a big purchase for the next month and then when the statement comes in, the purchase from the store that waited is on the statement as well as what I charged then. And when we go on a trip, and the statement with all those gas prices, restaurants and the motel bill does not come until a month later. I hate that.
@danishcanadian (28955)
• Canada
19 Sep 08
I don't have a credit card, but if I did, I would pay it when I saw things on line, rather than waiting for the mail. I tend to pay my credit card in small payments rather than the large bill at the end of the month, or that's what I did when I had one. As time went on, I decided not to use a credit card, and just use my debit card. What I used to do was use the card, then pay what I used out of my account on line at the end of the day. Now I just use a debit card, where all I have to do is keep money in the account, and not worry after that.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
19 Sep 08
I usually wait until I receive the statement, either online or in the mail and then I pay it. I pay it all at once. So I figure how much to spend by what the last month;s bill was. I like to keep money in the bank, and I find with debit card the money is taken out right away, whereas with a credit card, I can wait until the end of the month of pay it.
@ronaldinu (12422)
• Malta
19 Sep 08
I try to settle the amount as soon as possible. Sometimes I use the credit card when i am short of cash. However I always try to put my money back as soon as I receive my monthly wage.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
20 Sep 08
I do not use the credit card if I need money. They charge about a $2.50 fee on it. I do pay when I get the statement, although sometimes I will pay when it appears on line, especially if I am planning to make another purchase on credit and there is nothing going on that requires me to put money aside.
@whiteheather39 (24403)
• United States
19 Sep 08
I get all my bills online and I pay them exactly on the due date. I do not believe in paying them early as the interest rates are fixed so I do not gain anything by paying them early but the credit card company gain because they can use my money interest free.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
20 Sep 08
I tend to wait until I get the statement. I could pay them when they appear on line and I will if there is a purchase I have to make (it is a limited time sale, or I need it,) but I would rather wait until I get the statement in the mail and pay it off immediately. I find that as soon as I pay off the statements I am more inclined to charge something and I really do not want to, not until later on in the month.
@lloydanthony111 (4698)
• United States
19 Sep 08
Hello Suspenseful.
I pay all of my bills online. I've been doing it that way for years.
To be honest, I couldn't tell you the price of a postal stamp. I have it set up so that the payments are automatically taken out of my checking account every week. I pay more than the minimum so that I'm always ahead.
I do take a peek at my statement when it comes, just to see if my payments were received. I've never had a problem.
Lloyd
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
20 Sep 08
My husband is in charge of the bill paying (except for my credit card) and he does not like paying online. We go to the Mall because that is where the store is and the telephone and cable company. I pay one of my credit cards online, and the other I go to the store and pay it. I do not like paying when I see the statement on line, and I would rather pay it when I get the statement, since then I know that month is clear. I pay everything off and the only time I had a charge was when I made a mistake in transferring, instead of from my checking account to my Visa, I did the opposite.
@dragon54u (31634)
• United States
19 Sep 08
I pay it when it comes in the mail. I don't use it much lately so the timing doesn't make much difference to me but the electronic bill lets me know where I am and check it against my debit book.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
19 Sep 08
It depends on what is happening the next month. If I am sure that I have something coming up like birthdays, etc. then I will wait until I get the statement in the mail, but if not, I will pay the bill when it comes online and go to the Mall right then. It also depends on the weather. I do not like charging too much in the winter as we have to drive though the snow or walk there.
@Leixa003 (867)
• Philippines
20 Sep 08
I usually get alerts on text about the amount due and then get a statement online days later. When I receive the text alert, I just budget my salary so i can pay my due amount but I just pay it if it is near the due date or the due date it self. I do so because I pay online, and the payment comes from a bank account that I have and since my money in that bank account is earning interest so I try as much as possible to let my money for payment stay there. Even if it is just a little cents, it is stll better than to pay early having no interest at all.
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
22 Sep 08
I check the online statement to see when the charge comes in. And then I wait until the payment I made last month has balanced and the new statement appears. I write out the check but leave the date out, and then enter it when I receive the statement in the mail. I have a savings and checking and the money for my credit card comes from my checking account, and usually I transfer the money a few days before receiving the statement unless there is something else I have to write checks for.
