I am having a dilemma here in Hillbilly land. While the Summer has been a bit hard on my budget, I have resorted back a bit to using my airline mileage credit card and I am debating within myself if I should be using it all the time, for those darn miles of course. This past month I have been able to purchase three tickets for family, from back home, to come visit us. (We plan on having some fun with Ms. Mavis, can’t wait!)
Usually we go down there every summer but because of HB boys leg break it wasn’t possible. And I miss my family, so fortunately I can fly them up with miles. And it’s off season so it’s not using that many miles compared to the holidays.
So here lies my dilemma…… I don’t “see” my purchases. Meaning that when I use cash I “see” the cash leave and I have to count it out so I can picture what I am buying and for how much. I must be a visual person. When paying with the credit card I seriously can’t (most times) tell you how much I just spent. Now I know this is not a good thing because that means my pre-planning was nil and I probably bought more than I had gone in for. However, that’s another issue right?
Another challenge I have with this card purchasing (and remember I am not tech savvy) is paying the bill. I do have the APP for online banking and can transfer and pay (at least I can do that). But it seems delayed and sometimes I can’t tell how much the balance is. It says ” amount due or bill balance” SO which one is the amount I want to pay to pay if off? You remember in the past I have paid double. And I have done this a couple of times. Anyway I could go on and on. And I am getting bored with the subject so you must be as well. Cash is soooo much easier.
Ms. Mavis and I final got together and did our ole shopping thing. We went to FM and Costco. She showed me that canned corn was on sale and at a better price than even the sale bin so I stocked up. She said I couldn’t afford not to at that price. 
Then I found something she hadn’t seen, canned green beans, $0.15, can you believe that!? I was so proud! So I stocked up on that too. Great for lunch boxes. I didn’t need to buy much so my bill was only $16.46. I have been buying meat when on deep discount whenever I go and stocking up.
Then we went to Costco and got out of there for $89.23. I also “taught” Ms. Mavis how to use the dollar coffee maker. It was hilarious! We stood there for about 10 mins watching and teaching her how it worked. I bet the other people thought we were nuts.
Ms. Mavis thought it was good entertainment. And I got a coffee out of it, yay, a win win! Sometimes you just have to splurge especially for a friend. She might even get a hot cocoa next time we go. 🙂
We also went back to my place a cooked up a little storm. Though we petered out towards the end. We made low fat crock-pot turkey chili, reduced fat chicken sausage and beans (I added a lot more veggies like celery, onion, peppers and carrots), and of course my quinoa salad. If you didn’t notice I am going to really try to cook healthier.
I also cleaned out our pantry of a few “bad” items and gave them to Ms. Mavis for her brood.
Though Mr. HB would say my budget has bit the dust, I know it is there. It just hasn’t been as formalized as before summer. I’ve spent money this month on going out to eat a lot more than I honestly should. This will all but stop now that kids are back in school. And I must say I am relieved the pressure is off. Not only for budget but for waistline.
We had to buy school supplies and some back to school clothes. But I have to pause and say HB girl has really become the penny pincher. I asked her what she needed for supplies this year and seriously she had only three items. I asked her “are you sure” and she said “yep I have most everything from last year we don’t need to spend more money than we have to”. I got all teary eyed. Another story for HB boy though.
I have also been busy sprucing up for HB Granny and Sis’ visit. Bought these “artichoke” (Ms Mavis’ description) things to tie my front porch arrangement together. As well as more potting plants and flowers for the back yard. I love doing stuff like this and could do it all day if budget and time allowed! I still need to weed the garden but can’t wait for HB Granny to see that I was able to grow from here seeds of purple hulled peas. Don’t have many, but waiting to harvest when she gets here.
It going to be a great September!
Enjoy, Mrs. Hillbilly
Mary3M says
Mrs. HB: I think you should use your airline card for everything and when you get home move the cash to an envelope or go online and transfer the money from your checking account to the charge account. I do that when I buy needlepoints (my weakness!!!!!) and then I don’t spend the money two times. You can set up bill pay easily and you can stay on top of things.
Imagine how happy HB Mom and Sis are to come to visit and the tickets are a gift! I use my points for Costco gift cards for my Grands and other points for Christmas presents. win win all the way around.
I think you are doing great so don’t let the naysayers get you down!!!!!
Leslie says
Hi Mrs. HB! I struggle with this too! My card has a cash back bonus, and it’s so hard to pass up on that free cash.
Here’s a couple more ideas (since everyone loves receiving advice, right? ha) Maybe you could clip recipes to your card, keep the card in a little envelope, etc in your wallet. Or put a post it note on your card and write down how much you spent on that charge, so you can see the running total.
And maybe you could set a reminded on your phone or calendar about the day to pay your bill?
Thanks for sharing your experience- so relatable!
Lisa says
We have a cash back credit card, too. The problem is we have to spend money to get money back. It becomes a mind game for sure. I prefer using cash…when it’s gone it’s gone. No surprise credit card bill with the cash method!
Windy says
Mrs. HB, congrats on the seedlings! I am a brown thumb and commend anyone who can grow from seeds! As for credit card I might be able to Help. The Amt due will always be the minimum because of course they money on you carrying a balance. Always look for total amount or current total charges. I use to struggle with this but now work hard to pay balance of statement every month to keep on track. We use a credit card to get hotel stays because the mileage ones always seemed like it wasn’t worth the hassle to figure what you would get compared to the hotel point card. Plus my husband travels off and on and acquired loyalty point status that added to it. I think the best programs are the ones that you can get the most frequent rewards to use. Hope your family visit goes well !
Paige says
I always look forward to your posts!! You are so much like the most of us.
Karin says
Stick to cash! The freebies aren’t worth it if you are spending more overall. Be thankful for the tickets you earned over the summer and then get back to the cash budget.
KC says
I totally agree! Unless you can work out some other system for making credit card use “tangible” to you (the way cash use makes you realize it’s money), using a credit card and therefore wasting money is trading money-you-actually-have-and-could-use-on-anything for less-money-you-can-only-use-for-plane-tickets, which is a bad bargain. And there’s a reason they have those credit cards available: the companies that offer the cards make money off them!
(some people respond more or less the same with purchasing things by card or by cash, and can keep on top of the bills, and in those cases, sure, get the points/miles/whatever. But if you’re buying even just 20% more when using cards than you would with cash (which is probably lower than your personal numbers, given your reporting) and only getting 5-10% back, that’s a bad bargain.)
Also, pay off the full balance, not just the portion due, to avoid tacking interest onto your purchases as well. If you can set up a calendar reminder to pay every month a week or so before it’s due, then you can try to make a payment and if something goes strangely, wait a full 24 hours before trying again to see if that payment attempt worked or not with your online balance – that should help with the accidental double-pay thing.
Good luck! Keep on trying! 🙂
Conni says
I agree with Karin ….if trying to get ‘points’, miles or cash is sabotaging your plan to spend/buy less, go back to cash. As many have stated, the cc companies are not doing us any favors and they know thiese offers spell T R O U B L E for all but the very disciplined!
As always, thank you for your transparency and fun attitude….you and Mavis make a GREAT team!
Jo says
I have the same problem with credit cards. It doesn’t seem “real”. After I went through the Dave Ramsey course at church I tried cash, but it was a pain and I lost a lot of points rebates. Plus honestly I looked in my wallet and couldn’t figure out where the cash went either. Then I found Mint and it has been Awesome. It’s an app and website owned by Intuit, the Quicken and TurboTax company, so I feel safe using it. You enter all of your accounts and can see them in one place. It keeps track of what you have in all your accounts and shows you your net worth with cash and other assets against what you owe. Mint reminds you to pay bills and tracks your spending by category. It also shows month, year spending habits. I really recommend it. I still go over budget, but I don’t miss card payments and I know exactly where my money went, usually too much to restaurants and vets. Its really easy to use, and I’m pushing 50.
Siobhan says
I can’t recommend YNAB enough. It’s a budgeting app that makes a credit card purchase feel real. It’s been awesome for my family, my husband and I both record purchases as we go, so we’re always on the same page. And it talks to your bank and cards, so if you miss a Costco trip, it will remind you to categorize it. It’s $50 for the year, and I was hesitant, because who wants to spend money to save money? But I’ve saved way more than that by being on track. You can try for free for a month. What have you got to lose?
Tammy says
I’m all for cash only, especially for groceries and other household items. It’s an easy way to keep yourself on budget.
Sherry says
Everyone falls off the wagon now and again. But the important thing is realizing you slipped back into your old ways and you need to fix it. Saying, oh I will start again Jan. 1st, is just delaying it and giving yourself the green light to continue the bad habits. So good for you, pick yourself back up, and try again. You are truly an inspiration. I love your posts!! I love seeing what you buy at the grocery stores. Could you start telling us some of the meals you make? Maybe posting some receipes. It looks like you buy a lot of healthy things, so I am interested in the meals you make. Thank you.
Deb says
I compromised and use my 2% cash back CC for all utility bills, medical visits and insurance pmts. Shopping is with cash. And always pay the full amount owed every month, it’s the only way to win the CC game.
Sharon says
Every time I use my credit card I automatically subtract that amount from my checking account ledger that I have with my checkbook. That way I know how much I have remaining to spend. That has worked for me for years. The other thing I do (and some people think I am crazy for doing it this way) when I get the bill I write a check for the amount I owe and subtract it again from my checking account, then I move that amount of money over into my savings account. It’s not quit as easy to do since I have retired and not bringing in as much as I had been doing, but subtracting it as soon as I have used the card keeps me informed of how much I have left to be able to spend. I’ve been able to save a lot doing it that way.
Jana says
I use MVelopes to track my budget wit CC. This way I get my card points and stay on budget.
https://www.mvelopes.com/