Category Archives: Credit Cards

Credit Cards, Deals and Bargains

Free Money Each Month

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My wife and I try to charge as many of our expenses as possible to our cash back reward credit cards. Not only do we get cash back, but charging expenses to our credit cards helps with our cash flow situation. Of course, we make sure we pay the credit cards off each month so that we don’t incur interest charges.

We each have our own cash back credit card that we use for business expenses as well as a joint cash back credit card that we use for household expenses. We earned a total of $646.36 in cash back rewards from these credit cards in 2009. That works out to an average of $53.86/month. This is truly free money since we pay off the credit cards each month. I love it!

Credit Cards

Attacking Credit Card Debt

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Having credit card debt sucks. It was one of the most stressful times I’ve experienced. In order to pay off my credit card debt, I found I had to attack it every minute of the day through learning, strategizing, and sacrificing. After awhile, the progress I was making paying down my credit cards was almost as much as I had racking up the debt. I’d scrounging for a couple of extra dollars just so I could send it to the credit card companies to see the balance go down. Here’s a strategy I think is pretty successful:

  1. Pray
    1. Sometimes the toughest times in our lives are there so we focus more on God instead of thinking we can do it ourselves.

  1. Quit using credit cards
    1. This goes without saying, but you’ll see me speak out of the other side of my mouth below when I suggest getting a cash back rewards card.

  1. Create a plan
    1. Put together a spreadsheet listing the total amount owed and what the interest rates are. The visibility this provides is invaluable. Plus, you can include formulas in the spreadsheet to calculate how long until the card will be paid off based on a certain monthly payment.
    2. Negotiate lower rates where possible with credit card companies or transfer the balance to a lower rate card.
    3. Pay the minimums on all credit cards, except for the highest interest rate card. For the highest interest rate card, pay as much as possible each month. Put every dollar you can spare toward the balance. If “extra” money pops up mid month, send it to the credit card immediately to get it out of your hands and reduce the balance you are paying interest on. Use your credit card company’s online payment feature to make payments quick and easy and to save postage. Once that card is paid off, use the same strategy to pay down the next highest interest rate card. And so on…

  1. Look for way to bring in more money
    1. Get a cash back rewards credit card. This card should be used for as many of your standard monthly expenses as possible and should be PAID OFF EACH MONTH. This will not only give you 1%-5% cash back on everything you charge (things you are already paying cash for anyways), but will also help with monthly cash flow since you get a 30 day float. Use the cash back rewards you earn to pay down other credit cards. Note: Do not get a rewards card if you are unsure that you will pay it off every month. Rewards cards have high interest rates and slipping up one month will eliminate the cash back rewards gained over many months. We average ~$40+ a month in cash back rewards. This is some of the easiest money I’ve ever made.
    2. Have kids? Babysit a neighbor’s kids for a couple of hours each week. It will be fun for your kids and help tire them out.
    3. Have lots of “stuff”? Sell items on craigslist. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. It’s free and if you place the ads on Friday, you can have people come by on Saturday and Sunday to purchase. I’ve sold an old can opener for $5, scratched up sunglasses for $15, and even a couple of parts off my car that I did not need (a truck cover and truck mat).
    4. Love dogs? Offer to walk neighbor’s dogs for a few bucks.
    5. Enjoy needles? Donated plasma. It’s quick (~1 hour), easy, and pays ~$30 a visit. Plus, you’re helping others.

  1. Save money wherever possible
    1. Eliminated all entertainment that cost more than a nominal amount. Find free things to do like borrowing books for your library
    2. Don’t eat out. Food is expensive and easy to over look. Buy food on sale and prepare large meals to have leftovers.
    3. Plan driving trips to reduce fuel costs. Gas is expensive. Car pool if possible.
    4. Cancel gym membership. Go for a jog, swim, or bike ride to get a workout.
    5. Cancel retirement contributions. Every extra dollar needs to go towards paying off the credit card debt. Once it’s paid off, you can save like crazy. UPDATE: Thanks to Kristy at Master Your Card for pointing out that you should always contribute up to your employer’s match (free money). I totally overlooked this. Thanks Kristy!


Paying off debt is a war. Fight like crazy to win.

Credit Cards, Deals and Bargains

Well Rewarded

We just reached our $300 cash back reward maximum for the year on Citi credit card. We did a good job of charging as many expenses as possible to this card to earn the 1-3% cash reward.

For the rest of the calendar year, we’ll be switching to our American Express reward credit card, which we typically only use for Costco. Switching to this card for a couple of months will be a bit inconvenient, but I hate the thought of giving up free money.

Credit Cards

Citibank Wants To Give Me Money?

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I used to have a ton of credit card debit (click this link to read the details). Thankfully, those days are long behind me. While I never got behind in any of my credit card payments, keeping track of the statements/payments for 6-7 credit cards was tough.

Well, it turns out that back in 2004, I overpaid my Citibank credit card when closing the account. I guess I moved addresses immediately after closing the account, because Citibank lost contact with me. Last week, I received a letter from Citibank stating that they have been trying to track me down to give me a $92.80 refund check for my overpayment in 2004. Wow, nice surprise.

Since I’ve moved 4 times since the address that had in their system, they required that I get a form notarized proving who I am. The notary cost me $10.00, but I should get the $92.80 check in about 4 weeks.

Thank you Citibank.

Credit Cards, Deals and Bargains

Well Rewarded

I love cash back rewards credit cards! My wife and I both have cash back rewards cards that we use for business expenses (reimbursed by our companies) as well as a separate cash back rewards card we use for our household expenses. We are able to charge 30% of our total monthly household expenses to the cash back reward card each month.

If you don’t currently have a rewards credit card, and you are able to properly manage your credit card debt, I recommend looking into it. My wife was the mastermind behind getting us signed up for the cash back rewards cards and it’s really paid off. We have averaged $59/month in rewards from our various cash back rewards credit cards over the past 10 months. Annually, that would be more than $700, and over 20 years it would exceed $14,000. That’s free money! In addition, charging expenses to a credit card helps with our monthly cash flow.

After having been in a great deal of credit card debt previously and paid untold amounts of interest to the credit card companies, it’s nice to get a little payback. . . literally.

A great resource for comparing various cash back credit cards can be found at creditcards.com. It’s important to note that the balance needs to be paid off each month so that you don’t incur interest, otherwise cash back rewards don’t mean jack.

Credit Cards

Paid Off Last Off Credit Card Debt

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I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. My wife and I just returned from spending the holiday with my family. It was a blast! Great food and good times.

In financial news, my wife and I decided today to pay off our 0% interest Chase credit card balance (the last of our credit card debt). This credit card had a clause that if we were late with a payment, they could back-charge us interest. We didn’t want to have that hanging over our heads any longer. Better yet, we also wanted to start 2008 with a little less debt.

Credit Cards, Deals and Bargains

Cash Back Credit Card

As I have mentioned before, my Wife and I use our Citi Dividend Platinum Select credit card most of our monthly expenses. We receive 1%-2% cash rewards for these purchases and have been averaging a $50 cash back check every two months. It’s free money for bills we have to pay anyways. Plus, charging the expenses to a credit card helps with our monthly cash flow.

Citi Bank recently sent us a special referral offer. If you would like to sign up for a Dividend Platinum Select credit card, I can request that they email you a special offer that allows you to get 5% cash back for the first six months. That’s a great deal and an easy way to keep a little more of your money. After six months, the cash back reward reverts to the standard 1%-2% cash back.

If you’re interested, let me know and I’ll request the offer be emailed to you.

Full disclosure: Citi Bank provides me a $25 reward for each approved account (up to 5 accounts). So, we’re both benefiting.

Credit Cards, Deals and Bargains

Cash Back Credit Cards

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My wife and I pay most of our monthly bills using our Citi Dividend Platinum Select MasterCard cash back credit card. We pay for our groceries, gas, cable/internet, gifts, etc. using the card. We have also arranged to have my Wife’s medical insurance bill, my cell phone bill, and our Blockbuster Total Access bill automatically charged to the card each month. There are only a few things that we can’t charge to the cash back card such as our mortgages, HOA dues, and auto loans.

We have been averaging a $50 cash back reward every two months since we started paying our bills with the card 4 months ago. It’s important to note that there is a $300/year maximum to the cash back rewards. If we reach the maximum, we will then begin using our HSBC Platinum MasterCard cash back credit card. I am currently using the HSBC cash back card for my business trips, to help keep work expenses separate from our monthly bills. I average $25-$50 cash back every three months, just for charging business trips to the card.

It’s not a ton of money, but since we’re paying the bills anyways, we might as well get a percent or two of our money back. Besides, charging the bills to our cash back card helps with our month-to-month cash flow. And, of course, we always pay the credit card bill in full each month so that no interest is accrued.

If you’re not taking advantage of cash back credit cards, you may want to consider it.

Credit Cards, Income

Paying Off Our Chase Credit Card

My wife and I get paid every two weeks, therefore, there are two months of the year that we both receive three checks. Next month is one of those months for my wife.

We have decided to use her extra check, $1,161.67, to pay off our Chase credit card. Mathematically, this is not the right move since the card is 0% interest until March 2009. We’d be better off depositing the money into our Emigrant Direct account earning 5.05% APY and stretching the Chase credit card payments out to take advantage of the interest free period. However, the catch with the credit card is that if we are late with a payment, Chase can back-charge us interest. I hate having that hang over our heads, so from a piece-of-mind standpoint, paying off the card is the way to go for us.

It will be nice to have one less debt to worry about.

Business Travel, Credit Cards, Deals and Bargains

Gotta Love Easy Money

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I just received confirmation from HBSC that our $25 cash back redemption request has been received, and our check will arrive within 15 business days. Not a big sum of money, but the only thing I had to do to earn it was charge my business trip expenses to my HBSC rewards Mastercard (which my company immediately reimburses me for).

My wife and I also have a Citi Dividend Platinum Select MasterCard that we use for most of our household expenses. The card is paid off monthly and earns us up to 5% cash back. In fact, we should be able to request a $50 reward from the Citi MasterCard next month. Easy money.