I think it's more an emotional/mental "what makes you feel good" thing.
Because I use my credit card(s) through out the month - the balance on my card a day after the Closing Date is very likely to be higher than the Amount Due on my statement. Since I bank online and check my credit card balances on line I typically see the higher balance when I go to pay the Amount Due (to avoid interest). I usually "round up" my payment amount to the nearest tenth - just because I like round numbers AND the extra amount typically drops how much I will owe when I get to the next closing date (statement).
Since most of my spending is based on my "spending plan" or "budget" - when I have a planned a Big Expense OR planned out of the ordinary expense I have the money to pay for it. It's either already IN checking OR I will move money to checking once I am confident of the final cost/charge on the card. (did I return the Thing? did I get an unexpected discount? was the thing more than my original "budgeted amount" - but I still purchased it? etc).
For planned Big Expenses/out of the ordinary expenses I typically look at what I currently have in checking and think about my future income and what I have in a HYSA - and then move money around accordingly. I may or may not take advantage of any available "float". It's not about the "interest" I could be earning - it's about the convenience to me. I've got a lot of moving parts to my finances and I don't like to have to deal with "loose ends" if I don't have to.
And that's where the "what ever makes you feel good" comes in. Do what makes you feel good.
I have high enough credit limits on my cards and a high enough credit score that I generally don't agonize over a 2 or 3 month small ding to my credit score. I spend more mental/emotional energy about NOT paying the "stupid tax" by carrying a balance (accidentally starting the interest cycle on a card) or paying late (a fee) or having "loose ends" (having to remember to add a final bit to my records well after the thing is done.) that could come back and bite me for something that was completed a month or more ago.
Because I use my credit card(s) through out the month - the balance on my card a day after the Closing Date is very likely to be higher than the Amount Due on my statement. Since I bank online and check my credit card balances on line I typically see the higher balance when I go to pay the Amount Due (to avoid interest). I usually "round up" my payment amount to the nearest tenth - just because I like round numbers AND the extra amount typically drops how much I will owe when I get to the next closing date (statement).
Since most of my spending is based on my "spending plan" or "budget" - when I have a planned a Big Expense OR planned out of the ordinary expense I have the money to pay for it. It's either already IN checking OR I will move money to checking once I am confident of the final cost/charge on the card. (did I return the Thing? did I get an unexpected discount? was the thing more than my original "budgeted amount" - but I still purchased it? etc).
For planned Big Expenses/out of the ordinary expenses I typically look at what I currently have in checking and think about my future income and what I have in a HYSA - and then move money around accordingly. I may or may not take advantage of any available "float". It's not about the "interest" I could be earning - it's about the convenience to me. I've got a lot of moving parts to my finances and I don't like to have to deal with "loose ends" if I don't have to.
And that's where the "what ever makes you feel good" comes in. Do what makes you feel good.
I have high enough credit limits on my cards and a high enough credit score that I generally don't agonize over a 2 or 3 month small ding to my credit score. I spend more mental/emotional energy about NOT paying the "stupid tax" by carrying a balance (accidentally starting the interest cycle on a card) or paying late (a fee) or having "loose ends" (having to remember to add a final bit to my records well after the thing is done.) that could come back and bite me for something that was completed a month or more ago.
Statistics: Posted by LittleMaggieMae — Fri Aug 09, 2024 1:06 pm