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No, I want the cash back. What keeps me on track is that I pay my cc balance in full every month. If I go off course, it will bite me in the bottom. And I do not have to be to the penny. I can go a bit off course if I want to. That is one of the few luxuries I have in my budget. The cash back evens that out, but I don't even think of it that way. I just think it's super-depressing to skimp on GROCERIES.
I read labels and look at prices per ounce and all that. But putting back something because it's not precisely in the budget? ugh.
I only do that for things I am not supposed to be buying regardless of cost. Like cokes. I'm supposed to drink tea instead. If I drink too many cokes, the price of that is NO COKES on the next trip. To keep my intake in line. A self-imposed penalty for abusing sugary drinks!
I'll be interested to read others' responses to this question. I've been using only my credit card for groceries, because I get cash back. But now I'm wondering if I'd save more money by using cash and thus preventing impulse buys.
I wonder too about the logistics of paying cash for groceries. How do you plan your grocery list without knowing ahead of time how much things cost? Do you do your shopping with a calculator in hand, adding the price of each item as you put it in the cart?
Tuesday ads for the week’s Wednesday to Wednesday grocery store sales. It’s the junk mail we get, but I check the ads, develop a menu and go buy.
I tend to not impulse buy, unless I run into a great sale. I also use my credit card for cash back rewards.
Been using cash for a long time for gas, errands, etc. Now I plan to use cash for groceries...been spending too much and overbuying items. Just too easy with the card.
Hoping if I use cash I'll be a lot more careful about what purchases...stick to my grocery list and not make spur of the moment choices.
Anyone do this and if so, do you find yourself skipping the impulsive buys??
Nope. I use my cc to buy what I need. Pay it at when I get the bill
Just because I’m using a cc doesn’t mean I impulse buy
Been using cash for a long time for gas, errands, etc. Now I plan to use cash for groceries...been spending too much and overbuying items. Just too easy with the card.
Hoping if I use cash I'll be a lot more careful about what purchases...stick to my grocery list and not make spur of the moment choices.
Anyone do this and if so, do you find yourself skipping the impulsive buys??
I use EBT. When that runs out, I use my debit card. I only buy the groceries I need. So the only way I'm going to save any money on food is to skip meals. If I skip a meal, then I have less groceries to buy.
I fail to see how you are going to save any money by using cash. You need to work out a food budget.
I use EBT. When that runs out, I use my debit card. I only buy the groceries I need. So the only way I'm going to save any money on food is to skip meals. If I skip a meal, then I have less groceries to buy.
I fail to see how you are going to save any money by using cash. You need to work out a food budget.
I use a credit card for practically all my transactions, including grocery shopping, and no matter how painful, I pay the cards off in full each month. Been doing it this way for years. I have an Amazon Visa that accrues points which translate into deductions for my Amazon purchases. I also have a Delta American Express card that accrues miles on Delta.
My wife and I have had the Delta card since the early 1980s. In that time we have flown:
round trip from NYC to Hawaii in business class for about $200 once
round trip from NYC to London in business class for about $280 per trip twice
round trip from NYC to Portland Oregon in business class for about $100 per trip twice
round trip from NYC to San Francisco in business class for about $100 per trip twice
round trip from NYC to San Antonio in business class for about $100 once
We did this by using the American Express Delta card to pay for practically everything, but we were diligent in not using it for stuff we wouldn’t have bought anyway. We still have about 300,000 miles with Delta. Keep in mind that in the early years it was a lot easier to get miles (promotions where we could get 3X or 5X miles) and also if we reached certain breakpoints such as having spent X amount on the card in such and such a time period, we would get a bonus of 10,000 or 25,000 miles. They don’t pile up as quickly now and you have to use more miles now for trips.
The Amazon Visa is more recent, and since we don’t travel as much anymore, now we concentrate on using it more. I made a purchase recently where we had more points than the total cost of the purchase, so it was free (kind of).
The key to all this is disciplined spending and diligently paying off the full balance each month.
Keep in mind that in the early years it was a lot easier to get miles (promotions where we could get 3X or 5X miles) and also if we reached certain breakpoints such as having spent X amount on the card in such and such a time period, we would get a bonus of 10,000 or 25,000 miles. They don’t pile up as quickly now and you have to use more miles now for trips.
You're right on both points in your last sentence. My brother is going to Australia on business next month, paid for by his employer, and they have to burn 400,000 miles so his wife can accompany him in Business Class!
I've been using a Fidelity 2% cash back Visa and I like it because it's straightforward- 2% on everything. Recently, though, I got an AA MasterCard because they offered a 60,000-mile bonus after some spending total was reached. I hadn't seen anything that generous in ages, although I remember one very good year in which I got AA-branded Visa and MasterCards, EACH with a 75,000-mile signing bonus. I tend to fly more on AA because I'm lifetime Gold, so the extra miles from putting it on the card come in handy.
I'm not really an impulse buyer and I pay in full every month.
Yes...more disciplined spending and paying cc off each month...
my new goals.
And to avoid using cc at Amazon so much...easy to rack up debt that way. Though I love having items delivered to my home, particularly heavy items, need to pay this off too each month.
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Solly says — Be nice!
