$1000 credit card bill, and every item is $20 or less

[JEDI]

i bought ALOT of small items last billing cycle but i thought i actually spent less than usually since i didnt buy any medium ticket items. (anything over $50.)

wow.. what a deceiving illusion. I never would have imagined that it added up to $1000.

I now understand when my family/friends say they have no idea where their $ goes. (But i still dont understand why they go into credit card debt.)

Luckily i have the $ to pay it off.

 

[CRXican]

my credit card bill is around $735 this period

that includes a Dell 2005FPW and a Haro F3 Frestyle BMX bike

minimum payment is $20, lol

 

[FoBoT]

yeah, that is a bummer

you might want to try strickly cash for a while just so you are more aware of all those small purchases bleeding your $$$ supply

 

[akubi]

I developed a habit of checking my balance every week or so online, to avoid any nasty surprises. Takes only a minute to log in.

 

[xospec1alk]

i have MS Money...helps me keep track of how much i spend on my CC....

of course it does nothing to deter my spending...

 

[dullard]

Twice, for one full year (2001 and 2003 I think) I kept track of every penny spent. Yep even in a gumball machine. I didn't do anything to change my spending habits. I only kept track of it all. The results were interesting to me.

For one example, I thought I was spending too much for gifts, since they were those medium ticket items (~$50 to $150). But actually those ended up being an insignificant amount of my budget. So, I immediately doubled my gift spending.

I don't think many people have what it takes to keep track of everything. And thus I don't recommend it. But it was a lot of fun to keep track (I'm a numbers person).

 

[Sphexi]

$50 is small to you? I get away from that by trying not to buy anything over $5 without thinking it through, my bill has never been that high, ever. I pay my electric bill with it, that's about it.

 

[StageLeft]

Yep, believe it or not you've got to buy only 53 items less than $20 and it adds up to more than a k. I hate it Actually, if I look through my CC bill I see a lot of annoying little purchases too.

 

[FoBoT]

Originally posted by: dullard

I don't think many people have what it takes to keep track of everything. And thus I don't recommend it.

we did that to a lesser degree, if we took out cash , we didn't break that out into gumballs, but we did list every bill/spending like at walmart, etc on a monthly planner/blotter, it really helped us stick to our budget and realize our budget was livable

 

[GoingUp]

I rang up 2050 on my last statement.... although that includes my new monitor.... once I get paid on friday itll all be paid off.... trying to get my expenses back in order for this billing cycle... i want under $500 but thats not gonna happen between bills, groceries gas and misc.

 

[Argo]

Yup, that's how addition works. They usually cover it in 3rd grade.

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: Argo
Yup, that's how addition works. They usually cover it in 3rd grade.

Canada > US. I was given the basics in grade one

 

[JEDI]

Originally posted by: Sphexi
$50 is small to you? I get away from that by trying not to buy anything over $5 without thinking it through, my bill has never been that high, ever. I pay my electric bill with it, that's about it.

nice dicipline! i had that when i was in high school/college and the 1st couple of years after i got a high paying job.

but it slowly eroded away.

Now i dont bat an eye if it's under $20.

but from this bill, i think i should start thinking more about these small purchases.

 

[Wizkid]

I've tracked every cent that I spent since dec 2002 (including cash purchases). I update quicken almost every day. It only takes a few minutes but makes for some very interesting reports and does help control my spending

 

[PHiuR]

it's easy...

if you make a crapload of $ you can spend more.

woo hoo!

 

[cronos]

Originally posted by: CRXican
my credit card bill is around $735 this period

that includes a Dell 2005FPW and a Haro F3 Frestyle BMX bike

minimum payment is $20, lol

mine is about $1000. i was paying off my debt from last year and it was down to ~$800, but i couldn't help myself and got the Dell 1905FP so it went back up.

of course i only let myself do this because it's still on 0% until november

 

[YetioDoom]

You bought 50 things in a month? Give some examples.

 

[Argo]

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: Argo
Yup, that's how addition works. They usually cover it in 3rd grade.

Canada > US. I was given the basics in grade one

I actually went to elementary school in what used to be USSR at the time. So yeah, I too was given the basics in 1st grade.

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: saxguy

Originally posted by: CRXican
my credit card bill is around $735 this period

that includes a Dell 2005FPW and a Haro F3 Frestyle BMX bike

minimum payment is $20, lol

mine is about $1000. i was paying off my debt from last year and it was down to ~$800, but i couldn't help myself and got the Dell 1905FP so it went back up.

of course i only let myself do this because it's still on 0% until november

Hot Deals are addicting aren't they?

 

[JEDI]

Originally posted by: YetioDoom
You bought 50 things in a month? Give some examples.

kinda hard to rmember what i bought in the stores. like i said, i know understand when my friends said they spent xxx that month, but have no idea where the $ went.

The stores:
walmart a few times
staples a couple of times
lunch several times
shooting pool
movies
gas
ebay stuff
corner convience store
etc

wow, i never went to the supermarket last month. guess i didnt need food since i was out all the time, plus picked up small stuff at the convience store to tide me over

 

[Mo0o]

If you're strapped for cash, PM sonz for financial wisdom

 

[JEDI]

Originally posted by: Mo0o
If you're strapped for cash, PM sonz for financial wisdom

lol.. just out of curiousity

but no user by name sonz

 

[Keyvan]

try sonz70

 

You should grow up and realize you are POOR

 

[CTrain]

Originally posted by: Mo0o
If you're strapped for cash, PM sonz for financial wisdom

LOL, too funny.