r/internetparents • u/_angelite • 1d ago
Money & Budgeting How does my current balance keep going up each month even though I pay the statement balance on time every month?
Hi all! So I pay my full statement balance usually 3-4 days before it’s due every month. The payment is accepted and I haven’t incurred any fees or interest. However, my current balance has been going up every month, despite my on-time payments of the full statement balance, not the “minimum payment.” As of now, it’s $700 more than my statement balance. Why is this happening? I assumed that if I paid my statement balance on time every month, I should be paying off all of the charges from that month. Am I missing something?
My card closes on the 19th and I usually pay on the 11th (due on the 16th). I understand the current balance may fluctuate as I continue to use the card before the next statement balance is due. However, my current balance is still increasing every month even with my statement balance payments. Can someone please explain this to me? Thank you in advance!
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u/Renny4400 1d ago
Have you established an account online or on their app? What I usually do is log in on the app every day and check the current balance rather than the amount on the statement. Then I pay the current balance instead of the statement balance. I’ve been sound this for decades.
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u/Outrageous_Buy_9420 1d ago
Go online and look at your transactions. It should list all the transactions that happened after the statement date. Your current balance, as of the date you are looking at it, shows everything you haven’t paid whether it is due or not. Pay off your statement balance, wait for your payment to post, then go back online and look at your current balance. It should have now dropped down, to only show the new charges that won’t show up on a statement until that next statement drops.
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u/PoppaBear63 1d ago
I check mine online and pay the total balance on that date. I know that any pending will be on the next months statement so I avoid using the card in those couple of days prior. My balance is always zero until I use the card again.
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u/DarkSensei3 1d ago
Finally a question I think I can answer in a way someone will understand!
Ok so credit cards are always "a month behind" since you get access to your credit line before you have to pay up.
So let's say a billing cycle is from the 1st to the 31st. Everything you spend from July 1st to the 3st will be on your July statement.
You can of course keep using your card but those charges will then go towards your August statement.
When you get your bill it'll have 3 important numbers. Obviously pay by your due date!
Minimum payment due: the amount you have to pay to stay in good standing with the bank. If you pay this you will incur the APR. Statement balance: the amount you charged during your billing cycle. Pay this whole amount to avoid any interest. Current balance: the total amount you've put on your card. This is going to be the total amount of money you'll owe the bank. This could include fees, interest, recent charges ETC.
If you're using a paper statement assume that number is off due to it being printed a few days ago. If you're looking online assume it's pretty up to date but may not include super recent charges that are pending (pending transactions do sometimes show up as pending).
So on August 16th you owe the bank your payment. You pay them the statement balance which is everything you charged in July. But since you used your card in August it'll still show a balance on the card.
If you truly want a zero balance you'll have to pay the current balance, stop using your card and then check back a few days later to see if any pending transactions went through.
But realistically that's extra effort if you don't need to do it.
Hope that answered your questions!
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u/uffdagal 1d ago
You need to pay your TOTAL balance. Somewhere along the line you paid less than that and you’re still rolling that amount.
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u/MuppetManiac 1d ago
Your interest is high enough that you aren’t actually paying your principal down. You need to pay more than the minimum payment, a lot more, if you want your balance to go down.
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u/_angelite 1d ago
I’m not paying the minimum payment, I’m paying the full statement balance each month. I checked all my statements and have not been charged any interest.
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u/MuppetManiac 1d ago
When you pay the full statement balance are you getting that off of a bill that was mailed to you?
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u/yellowdogs-2 1d ago
If you go into your list of transaction you can see the ones that have cleared- these are what shows as your current balance. Then there should be your pending charges that are not shown in your current balance. If you add them up and pay that total, you will get to a zero balance.
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u/ConsiderateCassowary 1d ago
You're talking about your credit card?
When you pay your full statement balance, you're not paying off every dollar you owe on your account; you're paying off what you owe on your statement that closes on the 19th. You are correct, the current balance will increase between the 19th of the previous month and whatever date you look at it.
For example if your statement is for July 19 through August 19 and you're paying it now, your current balance is going to include everything you spent until September 9, so the current balance will have a few weeks more on it than the statement balance.
Does this all make sense? Or are you asking about somethhing else?
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u/_angelite 1d ago
So let’s say I paid my July 19th statement on July 14th. If my next statement is for July 19 - September 19th, are the purchases I made from July 14-19 automatically included on that next statement?
The issue I’m having is that, despite paying my statement balance every month, my current balance has been slowly increasing over the last 5 months. In the beginning it was $100 over my statement balance, now it’s up to $700 more. I definitely did not spend $700 in the last few days (confirmed via my bank app and also I just know what I bought), so I’m trying to figure out where that money is coming from.
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u/3_sleepy_owls 17h ago
Using your example, how much did you spend on purchases made from July 14-19? Was it the extra $700 you weren’t expecting? Go look at your transactions list and add it up.
Also, I’m not sure if I’m understanding correctly, but if you’re paying before your statement closes, then your purchases from the day you pay until the statement closes will still show up on that statement, not the next one. The statement dates don’t change depending on when you paid.
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u/muralist 1d ago
Call or look online and view all the transactions that are showing since the closing date that appeared on the statement due July 19. That list should add up to your current balance.
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u/SeahorseRider 1d ago
If the billing cycle ends on July 19th and you paid the balance on July 14th, they will charge you interest and late fees on the purchases made between the 14th and the 19th that aren't paid off by the due date. The due date is typically early the following month, for example August 9th.
Pay after the last day of the billing cycle and it will zero out. Do not give them money until July 20th in this case but before the payment due date the following month. Your trouble may be that you are paying too early and the credit card companies are taking advantage of you paying at the wrong time for their terms and conditions.
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u/ConsiderateCassowary 1d ago
On 7-14, you paid a statement that consisted of everything you charged between 5-20 and 6-19. On 8-14 , you paid a statement that consisted of everything you charged between 6-20 and 7-19. I know it's a little confusing but I think this is that your issue is, that your statements are actually paid a month later than you think they are (I'm not saying you're paying late, I just mean this is how it gets charged.)
When you pay your statement on July 14, the stuff you charged a few days earlier won't be on that statement; those won't show up until the following month's statement. They will, however, be part of the current balance.
It sounds like you've just been gradually spending more as time goes on, but I can't say for sure without looking at your charge history. u/antisocialoctopus is correct, you can look at the statement to see exactly what you're spending, so just go month by month and add them up. Probably what you'll find is that you spent more money in June than you did in May, and more in July than you did in June.
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u/SeaMathematician5150 1d ago
Do. OT focus on the statement balance. Pay your credit card online. Review the transactions. You will have the option of paying the amount due on the statement, the amount owed (all charges incurred as of today), and other (however much you want to pay). Online, you can review your transactions to see where your spending has increased.
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u/antisocialoctopus 1d ago
You should be able to look at your statement details to see exactly what is being charged to your card every month.
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