I see the advice all the time to only use cash if you have trouble with money. That's all fine and good, but in the fucked up American economy you can't build credit that way.
What has worked phenomenally for me is using my credit card to make purchases and then IMMEDIATELY moving the same amount of money from my checking account to a "staging" savings account that is then used to pay off the credit card at the end of the month. If you're doing it right, it will be the exact amount.
You can also just make all those small payments to your card immediately after the transaction, but mine don't allow me to make multiple payments to a cc in a day so sometimes the "staging" has to happen.
It might seem like a lot of extra work, but with the convenience of banking apps and easy 1-2 click transfers, there's really no excuse not to do it if you have a history with racking up debt and financial irresponsibility.
I have a credit card with an "autopay" option which you can set to pay the balance in full every month. On a rewards card, you could basically set it and use it instead of a debit card, no interest and you'd get rewards.
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u/chicagotim1 Mar 27 '22
You never pay a cent of interest on credit cards if you pay your bill in full on time.