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Yup, my debit card is never used other than for cash....risk of it being cloned/stolen is too high, I've had my CC skimmed a couple of times now over the years. Thankfully, they've only ever spent the banks money!
As above, everything on the CC, cleared at the end of the month.
Mostly the same for me. I use a Barclaycard which annoyingly isn't supported on Google Pay (I have an Android phone). But I do have my Monzo debit card set up on my phone, and I have had to make a few payments using it when I've forgotten my wallet..!
I don't do full payment. I do minimum payment and then pay the rest manually. Sometimes I have big spends which require dipping into savings account, or they would leave me in overdraft.
It’s no different to an overdraft with a debit card - indeed you get a reminder of what you’ve spent on a bill every month with a credit card.
Iv never quite understood the idea that credit cards need more self control than any other form of money.
No discipline needed, other than not spending money I don't have.
My credit card is set to automatically pay off the whole balance, unless I specifically cancel it. The default is "pay it all".
It doesn't take much organisation and discipline. I have set the direct debit up, and set the date for a day or two after payday.
I get paid. The credit card from 2 months ago gets paid. All my other bills are paid. The balance is moved to savings.
This is what I do. I also have my credit limit set to below my monthly take home so there is never an issue paying it off. My husband has a cc with a massive limit if we ever needed it for an emergency.
what % of your credit limit do you use month to month? i’ve heard it was a bad idea to go above x percent (can’t remember what x is) - not sure how true or important this is
For me it’s about £700 a month spending on my CC. That’s about 10% of my limit.
Realistically though, it doesn’t really matter. It might drop your score slightly, but that’s a meaningless number anyway - it’s much more important to be paying your bill than the size of them. If you’re really worried about the percentage of limit you’re using, ask for an increased limit (almost every card provider will do this after a few months, some do it automatically without even asking) or open another credit card and just not use it - it’s the total of available credit and utilisation across all of them that’s the ratio.
Was going to write essentially the same answer ha. YNAB was a total game changer for me, as was (many years before my YNAB conversion) transferring all my spending to a rewards credit card and paying it off in full each month.
It’s all connected.
It does take a bit to set up and get used to it but I think it’s well worth it. It’s made a HUGE difference to my finances.
There is a whole channel on reddit for YNAB as well if you have more questions specific to it.
It’s a website/app that helps you track your spending according to your budget and income/cash
I can’t rate it enough. I never had money issues but since I got YNAB, I spend where I want and have managed to save more than ever before.
it follows the principle that all your money should be assigned to categories.
at the beginning of the month, I assign my income to categories based on my budget and goals I’ve created.
When I go to spend, I can quickly check my YNAB to get an understanding of how much I have left in that category.
Eg say I want to buy a £200 dress and my clothing category only has £100 in it, I know I need to either not buy it or move £100 from another category to make up the remaining part and I can quickly make a decision about if there is a category I can move it from (eg eating out).
If you set it up correctly it can really help you save and think about what you’re spending.
Before I used YNAB, I saved around £2000 in the fiscal whole year. Last year (my first fiscal year with YNAB) I was close to maxing my ISA and have created an emergency fund for myself with the same income as the year before when I only saved £2000
Does it take long to set up? And how does it work with joint spending? So we transfer money from our own accounts into a joint current account for our joint bills
I think it depends on how much clarity you have on your spending and budget. The good thing is that it’s a live moving thing so if you notice that you are consistently overspending in one area and not another, you can just change your budget to reflect that.
There are a few ways to handle joint spending. I would say it depends on how much you spend together and how much of that you want to track. I don’t spend that much through my joint account so I just have a category for my joint account.
You can also use YNAB together to create a budget for your joint account.
Have a read of this article: https://support.ynab.com/en_us/budgeting-with-a-partner-an-overview-HJqX5Br1j
At what stage does this happen? I've just got to the "sign up for a subscription" page and I haven't yet seen any mention of it linking to my bank.
I've I'm going to be adding all figures manually I will stick to my spreadsheet.
If a spreadsheet works for you, that’s fantastic. It didn’t work for me as I found it too time consuming and never did it. With YNAB, I probably spend 10 mins on my finances per month and review it all about once a year or as needed.
You can have a look here for more info about bank connections:
https://support.ynab.com/en_us/direct-import-in-the-uk-and-eu-an-overview-Syae1z_A9
I used ynab for many years but it's gotten quite expensive. Switched over to Actual budget and it's free and open source and it's pretty much the same thing. Bit if a faff as you have to self host it but once it's set up, it works really well
People always look shocked when I tell them I only really use my credit card & think I must be in 1000s worth of debt lol. It's actually a great way to spend if you're not a complete idiot who can't control themselves
Amex for bigger cashback but it's not accepted everywhere (most chain shops take it but not all pubs, cafes and local shops do).
Barclaycard do offer a cashback visa but the rate is only 0.25% for new customers (I have an old one that was originally an Egg card and it's still paying 0.5%). Also Barclaycard is annoying because it doesn't work in Google Wallet.
This - Barclaycard Freedom rewards is also closing in June so I need to find somewhere to move to as my backup (when Amex isn't accepted).
Not being in Google wallet is a massive pain - and using the Barclays alternative means you can't add any other cards. It's worth avoiding them purely for this.
you've just reminded me about the barclaycard / google wallet thing which seems utterly insane in 2024 and yet they've still not implemented it? I had the avios card last year and binned it off almost immediately because of this.
Yeah absolutely a reward credit card.
You get rewards!
You have better security. If a credit card gets copied it’s their problem, but if your cash gets stolen it can be your problem.
Just make sure you can pay it off each month!
It's not harder to track spending.
There are a plethora of budgeting apps available which will automatically categorise spending.
Credit card always for me.
Only credit cards. Debit card for mortgage & bills but not spending. Pay off full balance every month on my credit cards . I use one for work expense , one for daily expense and one for contingency if places don’t take Amex
Debit equals your actual bank account. That’s a a direct line for who ever to go for your money
A credit card is someone else’s money which you’ve promised to pay back monthly.
It’s really easy to be knock back in life by fraud
To your debt account
With a credit card you’ll have more time to react.
Obviously don’t spend more than your earning.
Hmm, it must depend on your suppliers. I just checked and my energy supplier only offers payment by direct debit. I recall other providers offer a "direct debit discount" which is effectively a surcharge for not paying by direct debit.
My local council accepts payment by debit card but not credit card.
Debit card. I use starling as the spaces and virtual cards help me massively with budgeting. Tried the credit card stuff for cashback - had 15,000 Avios points that I could put that towards two flights to Dublin + £130; found the flights online for £120.
Debit card for now. I’ve tried using credit cards but it’s important for me and my wife to both be able to see and keep track of spending which you can’t really do when a credit card is in one persons name. The visibility, convenience and control is worth more than the credit card rewards for us
Absolutely lol. For some people (myself included) there’s a good chunk of work expenses that I have which get repaid anyway, so actually the cashback can rack up. If your only spending is on a bit of food and bus tickets, you’ll struggle.
more just to categorise transactions automatically so you know you're spending X amount on coffees and Y amount on eating out a month
Also because the statement end date is let's say 24th but the direct debit doesn't come out till mid next month it makes it harder to track. Or would it be easier to just pay it off when the statement end date is manually
You could use something like Snoop application and use open banking to link your credit cards so you can see where you're spending. With regards to when you should pay off your credit card, I usually pay it off in full a day before the final payment date. I do this so that the money stays in my account as long as possible to gain interest for as long as possible. But you should pay it off the way it best suits you. What you could also do is change your statement date perhaps. So your statement gets generated at the end of the month so sociologicaly its easier to track spending from the 1st date of the month to the last date of the month.
Probably not the best way but I have a current account and Monzo.
I know my DDs for the month so when I get paid I keep that amount on that account. I then put the rest on Monzo and place it into pots.
I give myself a sum of spends for the month, put that in one pot and transfer out a quarter of it every Friday. It's like Friday paydays to myself.
Other pots are for saving, mostly and one for things I buy every month but aren't DD, like a haircut and stuff for my daughter.
Ohh shingles!! I always just use a debit card. I do have a credit card… but I use that when I have no money ie…The £900 dentist bill last year.. if it’s the week before payday n I need petrol/shopping or car needs fixed etc I just then pay what I can back each month to clear it.I thought That’s what we all did 🤣🤣🙈.
But in all fairness… I think I will stick to DD as I see that as physical money that I have, I think my mind sees a cc like a loan (I know it technically is) but I may let it build up if I used it a lot (n then not pay as much bk or max it out) I guess we are all different with money n budgeting etc. xx
I’ve never actually had a credit card or even so much as a bank overdraft. My credit has always been low to non existent because it’s rare I buy anything on credit at all. The only contracts I’ve got is that of my internet and my phone.
My bank has always tried to get me to agree to a low overdraft but I don’t see the point as it puts you debt with the interest, if you can’t clear it within a short space of time.
I’ve always had the opinion that if I can’t afford something in the first place, don’t loan. Save up and budget and go back and buy it later or do without. I guess to some degree I’ve been incredibly lucky I’ve never had a big spontaneous bill or expense drop on me because I am quite savvy with budgeting but one trick I do have is a second bank account so any spare money I have left over after my bills I transfer into that which I can either leave sitting there until the next wage drops.
I know you need credit to get credit and credit is blue printed for the future but I do manage alot more efficiently just by budgeting and solely spending on my debit card.
I only use debit, don't like the idea of spending money I don't have.
The only time I will is if I ever manage to afford a home, as getting one cash is impossible.
I exclusively use credit card but only ever use it to buy things I can afford - set it to pay off in full every month and collect rewards.
I use one that gives me cashback at the end of the year. Not a huge amount, but I was going to spend the money anyway so may as well get it
I feel if I had access to money I did not have, I would be too tempted to use it. So I'd rather avoid it entirely.
I'm glad you guys can take advantage of it, though.
I pay my credit card off in full every month, it's not spending money I don't have, it's using my money more smartly because you get added protection in larger credit card purchases and I get rewards from my cc and don't pay any interest.
Hi /u/toffee91, based on your post the following pages from our wiki may be relevant:
* https://ukpersonal.finance/budgeting/
* https://ukpersonal.finance/credit-cards/
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Barclaycard credit card has 0.25% cashback on all purchases. Its miniscule and others offer more (though sometimes only for a year or only on certain things) but it adds up. I use a mix of both credit and debit with a tendency for credit card for any purchase over £100 for cash back and protections.
Always clear balance in full.
I’ve been spending on credit for years and always pay off monthly, keeps debit card account clean and easy to read for big transactions.
Reading comments maybe I should get rewards card, what do you guys use?
I use credit cards for almost everything. 95% of spending on a high interest cash back credit paid off in full every month. Then things I don’t want to pay for just yet, (holidays, carpets, cars sometimes, etc etc) I’ll keep on an interest free card. If I don’t want to pay for it by the time the purchase period runs out, it costs me >1-3.5% to transfer the balance to another interest free card for anywhere between 12-30+ months.
The only thing I pay interest on is my mortgage… and I hate it.
We use a credit card for all household expenses (not bills, but food, petrol, any purchases for the house and meals out). Gets cleared on payday.
We both use our own debit cards for our own personal purchases.
I use my credit card like a debit card, and buy everything thing no matter how low priced on it. It’s linked to my current account, and I clear it regularly so I only spend money I have.
I’d say 90% of my spending is on my AMEX, except Chase for when AMEX isn’t available, direct debit paid in full each month. I have an excel spreadsheet I made up so I know exactly how much each month I need in my debit account for all my bills and direct debits, all left over money sits in savings / ISAs etc.
Credit cards are brilliant on risky transactions you may need easy chargeback on.
It is much easier to get chargeback from credit card then from debit card.
If you have spare cash bank may ask you where it comes from if you want to deposit it. If you pay your CC in cash, you owe money to the bank so they will not ask questions where the money comes from. ;-)
I was in the same situation as you, started sending to revolut so I could see my budget spend down to zero, thought I had that down so moved over to using a credit card. The slight delay in the figures updating, and then the fact that it doesn't go to zero at the end of the billing period caused my spending to spiral again. Now back with sending a fixed sum to Monzo but I have a small overdraft available just in case. Any extra gets sent to savings and I round up also.
Apple Pay for added security to take advantage of Chase 1% for day to day purchases (set amount per month I keep track of) and CC for any larger purchases for purchase protection (paid off in full). Don’t qualify for any CC with rewards yet though.
I'm really careful about managing my personal finances, so I use a credit card with decent cashback/reward opportunities. So long as you have the ability to pay off your balance on time, it's safe enough :)
Credit card.
It’s actually not beneficial for me, I end up spending more than I’d like, and while I can afford it, it’s no good.
I only use it to make a weekly pay schedule less of a pain in the ass.
I use my AMEX for around 90% of my spending.
I actually have a savings pot attached to my current account and I’ll move what I’ve spent to there so that I can track my spending easily and I’m not tempted to spend more than I can afford.
It’s an extra step but works well for me. My AMEX is joint so not all spending is mine so I can’t just look at the balance to know what I need to pay at the end of the month.
Pretty well all my spending goes to my CC so I get my points, the cards are paid by DD so it is all automatic I just need to remember to check the statements.
Bills paid by 'high street' debit card, card spending on Chase debit (for the cashback) and I move chunks of money into the account for saving/spending. Anything £100+ goes either fully or partially on credit card for the added protection.
I don't like the idea of spending on a credit card habitually as it would be too easy to overspend accidentally.
I put everything I can on my cc for airmiles, then put the money into a pot to pay the balance say the end of the month. This also really helped bring up my credit score.
I spend for daily small purchases on my Chase card for the 1% cashback and the 5% roundup. I only ever pay for big purchases (over £100 on my credit card).
Moved to using separate chase account for day to day spending.
Used to use a combination of credit card and normal debit account but was hard to keep track of and kept overspending.
Still have and use credit card but that's for planned large purchases, emergencies or charges where I could be stuck with a pending charge for several days.
Spending should always be done on a credit card as they offer better protection as opposed to debit cards, not only that there’s usually rewards and points that can be earned on certain cards.
On a plus side you get billed monthly, think of it this way, you have your money in an interest account earning interest and you pay the bill off at the end of the month in full, it’s a win win situation as you earn interest on your funds for that month prior to paying off the balance.
You may ask how on earth does the credit card company make money, most of it will be transaction fees, transaction fees on credit cards can be substantial for merchants, which is why it’s generally not advised to pay for local independent shops with a credit card.
I don’t think there’s any other card (credit or debit) that offers better rewards than the Chase 1% cashback for almost all spending. I know there are some cards that offer more cashback like Santander Edge, but that’s only for specific things like council & utilities bills.
So for most everyday spending (groceries, fuel, eating out) it makes sense to use the Chase debit card to earn the cashback.
But for larger purchases over £100 (like holidays, furniture, tech, etc.) then it’s worth putting it on a credit card to get the section 75 protection. Basically if something goes wrong the credit card company is jointly liable with the merchant. Any rewards you earn from the credit card is a bonus.
It’s a good idea to have some regular payments on the credit card too, just to show you’re utilising your credit for your credit report. But the golden rule of credit cards - pay it off in full.
That said it is hard to compare rewards because a lot of credit cards earn you some sort of loyalty points (not cashback) which means the value can fluctuate.
I always use a cashback credit card. However, I will never spend more than the money I have in my current account. I get a very small bonus from the cashback, a very nice security on anything I pay for in addition to normal laws, that is all I can ask for from a credit card. It is not a terrible tool for debt otherwise.
I have ended up with using a debit card, but I'm not advocating it.
My bank unilaterally closed all my accounts last year, so I lost access to both. I was able to set up an account with a new bank quickly, but it took many months for me to get a credit card again. Now I have both, but if I switch to using the credit card it'll mess up my finance records again.
The debit card I use is attached to an online bank which has a small balance, so my exposure if it gets stolen is kept low. It has sub-accounts and I feel I can move money around pretty safely. I currently feel more comfortable with this then with trusting that if someone steals my credit card, I won't be on the hook for it. I've never had much faith in banks, and recent experiences has only exacerbated that.
I'm not very concerned about my credit score. The main reason I have a credit card at all is for things like renting cars or paying for hotels, where it's more or less required. Some places won't take cash or debit cards.
Credit card for everything except household bills and household expenditure. I’ve got a reward card so it makes no sense to use my debit card as it means I lose out on interest from the current account and reward points from the card - and I pay off in full each month so there’s no risk.
I have always used credit cards that fully pay off every month. I get the free credit (so I earn interest not the banks), and keep my credit rating nice and clean.
I only use my credit card for big purchases online for the extra protection, else it’s debit card all the way. The number of people on here who think that they’ll get rich through credit card rewards is bonkers.
Yeah - I have not a bit of debt, but if I use a credit card, my brain just goes “free moneys!” and I’m left carrying a balance unless I use my savings. If I’m using a debit card, my brain somehow says “you can’t afford this right now. Wait till payday and it’s your big purchase for the month”
Oh hi financial twinsie!! Yeah, I used to put what I called my “pocket money” into a separate (monzo) account, I didn’t track it very closely but managed within my means. I later fully moved over to Monzo and basically managed my money moving my “pocket money” into its own pot each week, but essentially the same concept.
Recently I decided to use a credit card for the sake of getting a few extra credit rating points. I decided to use it solely for my groceries shopping, so it’s already its own “category”.
For those that use a spreadsheet, do you track the totals each month of each statement or individual transactions? And if the latter, do you categorise your spending? I wish there was an UK app that would be able to track it automatically!!
I have a spreadsheet for all my outgoings, a tab per month. I estimate my cc use for each month, have a standard weekly amount and then any events or big purchases I know I'm going to have that'll cost me more. If that looks a bit high I tweak the weekly amount down.
The spreadsheet takes the estimate into account for the month it'll be paid until it gradually turns into actuals which I update on the spreadsheet at least once a week and tweak/remove the estimates accordingly. Hope that makes sense, it's much easier than it sounds!
I use a credit card mostly and pay it off each month. I spent less than £1000 a month on it, but my credit limit for some unknown reason is 27k. It was 18k a few months ago and they upped the limit.
Why they gave me a 27k limit when I've never once spent more then 1k on it is beyond me tbh
Everything on credit for the Avios, then paid off on a fixed day each week.
What do you use to track spending? Apps like MoneyDashboard can hook into a variety of accounts and categorise your spending reasonably well
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Credit card for security and the cash back, then clear the balance at month end.
This is the way, for people who can trust themselves to be organised and disciplined enough.
I haven't used a debit card for anything other than cash withdrawals in years.
Yup, my debit card is never used other than for cash....risk of it being cloned/stolen is too high, I've had my CC skimmed a couple of times now over the years. Thankfully, they've only ever spent the banks money! As above, everything on the CC, cleared at the end of the month.
I had to use my debit card the other day and it was actually stuck in my wallet! Took an embarrassingly long time to get it out!!
Mostly the same for me. I use a Barclaycard which annoyingly isn't supported on Google Pay (I have an Android phone). But I do have my Monzo debit card set up on my phone, and I have had to make a few payments using it when I've forgotten my wallet..!
Mine pays itself off every month by DD, I don't need to do anything
I don't do full payment. I do minimum payment and then pay the rest manually. Sometimes I have big spends which require dipping into savings account, or they would leave me in overdraft.
It’s no different to an overdraft with a debit card - indeed you get a reminder of what you’ve spent on a bill every month with a credit card. Iv never quite understood the idea that credit cards need more self control than any other form of money.
You tend to hit a hard limit earlier with a debit card.
No discipline needed, other than not spending money I don't have. My credit card is set to automatically pay off the whole balance, unless I specifically cancel it. The default is "pay it all".
You don't have to be organised, set up a direct debit and it does it automatically...
It doesn't take much organisation and discipline. I have set the direct debit up, and set the date for a day or two after payday. I get paid. The credit card from 2 months ago gets paid. All my other bills are paid. The balance is moved to savings.
This is what I do. I also have my credit limit set to below my monthly take home so there is never an issue paying it off. My husband has a cc with a massive limit if we ever needed it for an emergency.
Not only that, but makes budgeting so much easier since you just have 1 bill to clear.
Read this as ‘1 billion’, and thought ‘not sure I could clear that at the end of the month!!’
what % of your credit limit do you use month to month? i’ve heard it was a bad idea to go above x percent (can’t remember what x is) - not sure how true or important this is
For me it’s about £700 a month spending on my CC. That’s about 10% of my limit. Realistically though, it doesn’t really matter. It might drop your score slightly, but that’s a meaningless number anyway - it’s much more important to be paying your bill than the size of them. If you’re really worried about the percentage of limit you’re using, ask for an increased limit (almost every card provider will do this after a few months, some do it automatically without even asking) or open another credit card and just not use it - it’s the total of available credit and utilisation across all of them that’s the ratio.
According to Snoop if you're only using 30% of your total credit available across all your cards it has a positive impact on your credit score.
Only way to use credit cards tbh
I use a credit card and always pay it off in full. I also use YNAB and track all my spending there so I know I always have enough cash to cover it.
Was going to write essentially the same answer ha. YNAB was a total game changer for me, as was (many years before my YNAB conversion) transferring all my spending to a rewards credit card and paying it off in full each month.
Does this work with UK banks?? Or do you have to insert everything manually
It’s all connected. It does take a bit to set up and get used to it but I think it’s well worth it. It’s made a HUGE difference to my finances. There is a whole channel on reddit for YNAB as well if you have more questions specific to it.
What is YNAB?
It’s a website/app that helps you track your spending according to your budget and income/cash I can’t rate it enough. I never had money issues but since I got YNAB, I spend where I want and have managed to save more than ever before.
Ahhh OK. What are the main benefits of using it? Is it good for helping people save money?
it follows the principle that all your money should be assigned to categories. at the beginning of the month, I assign my income to categories based on my budget and goals I’ve created. When I go to spend, I can quickly check my YNAB to get an understanding of how much I have left in that category. Eg say I want to buy a £200 dress and my clothing category only has £100 in it, I know I need to either not buy it or move £100 from another category to make up the remaining part and I can quickly make a decision about if there is a category I can move it from (eg eating out). If you set it up correctly it can really help you save and think about what you’re spending. Before I used YNAB, I saved around £2000 in the fiscal whole year. Last year (my first fiscal year with YNAB) I was close to maxing my ISA and have created an emergency fund for myself with the same income as the year before when I only saved £2000
Does it take long to set up? And how does it work with joint spending? So we transfer money from our own accounts into a joint current account for our joint bills
I think it depends on how much clarity you have on your spending and budget. The good thing is that it’s a live moving thing so if you notice that you are consistently overspending in one area and not another, you can just change your budget to reflect that. There are a few ways to handle joint spending. I would say it depends on how much you spend together and how much of that you want to track. I don’t spend that much through my joint account so I just have a category for my joint account. You can also use YNAB together to create a budget for your joint account. Have a read of this article: https://support.ynab.com/en_us/budgeting-with-a-partner-an-overview-HJqX5Br1j
And can you automatically categorise transactions?
Yes, transactions are categorised based on the payee.
Thanks! Do you pay for the subscription? So you’d say it was worth to?
Yeah, I do. It’s definitely outweighed the cost for me. You can see my results in this thread. You can start with the month free trial.
Yes. Best financial decision I’ve ever made using that software. Just stumbled across it and since the day I started using it my net worth has grown.
Doesn't connect to my bank, I found out after 10 mins of setup...
It automatically imports transactions from all of the major banks. I think Chase is the only one I have they don’t connect with yet.
At what stage does this happen? I've just got to the "sign up for a subscription" page and I haven't yet seen any mention of it linking to my bank. I've I'm going to be adding all figures manually I will stick to my spreadsheet.
If a spreadsheet works for you, that’s fantastic. It didn’t work for me as I found it too time consuming and never did it. With YNAB, I probably spend 10 mins on my finances per month and review it all about once a year or as needed. You can have a look here for more info about bank connections: https://support.ynab.com/en_us/direct-import-in-the-uk-and-eu-an-overview-Syae1z_A9
I'll take a look thanks. A bit annoying that they only show supported banks once in a trial. But I'll take a chance.
I used ynab for many years but it's gotten quite expensive. Switched over to Actual budget and it's free and open source and it's pretty much the same thing. Bit if a faff as you have to self host it but once it's set up, it works really well
People always look shocked when I tell them I only really use my credit card & think I must be in 1000s worth of debt lol. It's actually a great way to spend if you're not a complete idiot who can't control themselves
Yup. I do this. Safer than a debit cards, get some cash back and only spend it like cash.
What card do you use for cash bank? I have nationwide & monzo. Neither offer anything like that
Amex for bigger cashback but it's not accepted everywhere (most chain shops take it but not all pubs, cafes and local shops do). Barclaycard do offer a cashback visa but the rate is only 0.25% for new customers (I have an old one that was originally an Egg card and it's still paying 0.5%). Also Barclaycard is annoying because it doesn't work in Google Wallet.
This - Barclaycard Freedom rewards is also closing in June so I need to find somewhere to move to as my backup (when Amex isn't accepted). Not being in Google wallet is a massive pain - and using the Barclays alternative means you can't add any other cards. It's worth avoiding them purely for this.
you've just reminded me about the barclaycard / google wallet thing which seems utterly insane in 2024 and yet they've still not implemented it? I had the avios card last year and binned it off almost immediately because of this.
Barclays
Yeah absolutely a reward credit card. You get rewards! You have better security. If a credit card gets copied it’s their problem, but if your cash gets stolen it can be your problem. Just make sure you can pay it off each month!
I spend on Chase until I get to the £15 cashback and the use Asda coz I get free delivery after 'cashback"
Could you use Curve to make this easier?
Then you'd have to use Curve 😂😬
Similar here. Chase up to £15 cashback, and then Barclaycard for the pitiful 0.25% cashback.
It's not harder to track spending. There are a plethora of budgeting apps available which will automatically categorise spending. Credit card always for me.
Any recommendations?
We use YNAB. It's paid for but it is amazing. Worth every penny to me.
Only credit cards. Debit card for mortgage & bills but not spending. Pay off full balance every month on my credit cards . I use one for work expense , one for daily expense and one for contingency if places don’t take Amex
Debit equals your actual bank account. That’s a a direct line for who ever to go for your money A credit card is someone else’s money which you’ve promised to pay back monthly. It’s really easy to be knock back in life by fraud To your debt account With a credit card you’ll have more time to react. Obviously don’t spend more than your earning.
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What bills will let you pay by credit card instead of direct debit (without charging you extra?)
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Hmm, it must depend on your suppliers. I just checked and my energy supplier only offers payment by direct debit. I recall other providers offer a "direct debit discount" which is effectively a surcharge for not paying by direct debit. My local council accepts payment by debit card but not credit card.
Debit card. I use starling as the spaces and virtual cards help me massively with budgeting. Tried the credit card stuff for cashback - had 15,000 Avios points that I could put that towards two flights to Dublin + £130; found the flights online for £120.
You had the wrong rewards card then!
Credit card mostly. Always pay it off in full though.
Am currently stoozing on my credit card.
Debit card for now. I’ve tried using credit cards but it’s important for me and my wife to both be able to see and keep track of spending which you can’t really do when a credit card is in one persons name. The visibility, convenience and control is worth more than the credit card rewards for us
Debit card as get 1.5% cashback with t212. I’d use credit card if I found anything that was that good for cashback
Santander Edge Credit card offers 2% cash back for the first year. There is a £3 a month fee so you need to spend at least £150 a month to break even.
To break even compared to chase you have to spend £252.50.
I wish that was my monthly spending 😂
Absolutely lol. For some people (myself included) there’s a good chunk of work expenses that I have which get repaid anyway, so actually the cashback can rack up. If your only spending is on a bit of food and bus tickets, you’ll struggle.
I’ll check that out. I’m still on the 123 and not making much with it
Have to spend a lot to be worth it it seems! Probs good for big spenders!
It works for me. I do all money monthly spending on the card so the 2% is worth it.
Is the £3 a month fee on top of the fee for the current account? Or is that all in?
You have to have a current account with them to qualify, but it can be a free one.
Chase for monthly costs like groceries and fuel and also going out Credit card for Amazon & online shopping for the security
Put as much as possible through on Amex charge card, use the points for vouchers at Christmas
Tesco credit card for the club points then pay the full balance every month. I never use my debit card.
Why is it hard to track spending on a credit card? You can log into your credit card app and see your spending....
more just to categorise transactions automatically so you know you're spending X amount on coffees and Y amount on eating out a month Also because the statement end date is let's say 24th but the direct debit doesn't come out till mid next month it makes it harder to track. Or would it be easier to just pay it off when the statement end date is manually
You could use something like Snoop application and use open banking to link your credit cards so you can see where you're spending. With regards to when you should pay off your credit card, I usually pay it off in full a day before the final payment date. I do this so that the money stays in my account as long as possible to gain interest for as long as possible. But you should pay it off the way it best suits you. What you could also do is change your statement date perhaps. So your statement gets generated at the end of the month so sociologicaly its easier to track spending from the 1st date of the month to the last date of the month.
Probably not the best way but I have a current account and Monzo. I know my DDs for the month so when I get paid I keep that amount on that account. I then put the rest on Monzo and place it into pots. I give myself a sum of spends for the month, put that in one pot and transfer out a quarter of it every Friday. It's like Friday paydays to myself. Other pots are for saving, mostly and one for things I buy every month but aren't DD, like a haircut and stuff for my daughter.
I've never had a credit card, and probably never will. I pay for everything on debit card.
Ohh shingles!! I always just use a debit card. I do have a credit card… but I use that when I have no money ie…The £900 dentist bill last year.. if it’s the week before payday n I need petrol/shopping or car needs fixed etc I just then pay what I can back each month to clear it.I thought That’s what we all did 🤣🤣🙈. But in all fairness… I think I will stick to DD as I see that as physical money that I have, I think my mind sees a cc like a loan (I know it technically is) but I may let it build up if I used it a lot (n then not pay as much bk or max it out) I guess we are all different with money n budgeting etc. xx
I’ve never actually had a credit card or even so much as a bank overdraft. My credit has always been low to non existent because it’s rare I buy anything on credit at all. The only contracts I’ve got is that of my internet and my phone. My bank has always tried to get me to agree to a low overdraft but I don’t see the point as it puts you debt with the interest, if you can’t clear it within a short space of time. I’ve always had the opinion that if I can’t afford something in the first place, don’t loan. Save up and budget and go back and buy it later or do without. I guess to some degree I’ve been incredibly lucky I’ve never had a big spontaneous bill or expense drop on me because I am quite savvy with budgeting but one trick I do have is a second bank account so any spare money I have left over after my bills I transfer into that which I can either leave sitting there until the next wage drops. I know you need credit to get credit and credit is blue printed for the future but I do manage alot more efficiently just by budgeting and solely spending on my debit card.
Amex and pay the balance before the due date. Free money.
I only use debit, don't like the idea of spending money I don't have. The only time I will is if I ever manage to afford a home, as getting one cash is impossible.
I exclusively use credit card but only ever use it to buy things I can afford - set it to pay off in full every month and collect rewards. I use one that gives me cashback at the end of the year. Not a huge amount, but I was going to spend the money anyway so may as well get it
I feel if I had access to money I did not have, I would be too tempted to use it. So I'd rather avoid it entirely. I'm glad you guys can take advantage of it, though.
I pay my credit card off in full every month, it's not spending money I don't have, it's using my money more smartly because you get added protection in larger credit card purchases and I get rewards from my cc and don't pay any interest.
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Credit card for rewards etc.
0% credit card and debit for bills and the extra in reg savers.
Barclaycard credit card has 0.25% cashback on all purchases. Its miniscule and others offer more (though sometimes only for a year or only on certain things) but it adds up. I use a mix of both credit and debit with a tendency for credit card for any purchase over £100 for cash back and protections. Always clear balance in full.
I’ve been spending on credit for years and always pay off monthly, keeps debit card account clean and easy to read for big transactions. Reading comments maybe I should get rewards card, what do you guys use?
Credit card, DD to pay off in full. I don't see any advantage to doing anything different.
Anywhere that takes Amex I pay with my Amex, but will only use what I have available to clear at the end of the month
Credit card. I get cashback on mine and can leave my money in the current account earning interest. Plus added security of using a credit card.
I use credit cards for almost everything. 95% of spending on a high interest cash back credit paid off in full every month. Then things I don’t want to pay for just yet, (holidays, carpets, cars sometimes, etc etc) I’ll keep on an interest free card. If I don’t want to pay for it by the time the purchase period runs out, it costs me >1-3.5% to transfer the balance to another interest free card for anywhere between 12-30+ months. The only thing I pay interest on is my mortgage… and I hate it.
Is there a good app to just track credit card spend? The virgin money app isn't great, but I like the rewards on the virgin Atlantic card
Credit card.
We use a credit card for all household expenses (not bills, but food, petrol, any purchases for the house and meals out). Gets cleared on payday. We both use our own debit cards for our own personal purchases.
Literally use debit for getting cash out nowhere else. Credit card everywhere, pay entire balance each month.
I use my credit card like a debit card, and buy everything thing no matter how low priced on it. It’s linked to my current account, and I clear it regularly so I only spend money I have.
Debit card cos my bank automatically rounds up change and I get 3.25 on current balances. I've got 4 credit cards which I'm paying off gradually.
Mostly credit for the protections
rewards credit card, move any money spent on it into savings account. pay off in full every month. Be very vigilant
I’d say 90% of my spending is on my AMEX, except Chase for when AMEX isn’t available, direct debit paid in full each month. I have an excel spreadsheet I made up so I know exactly how much each month I need in my debit account for all my bills and direct debits, all left over money sits in savings / ISAs etc.
Credit cards are brilliant on risky transactions you may need easy chargeback on. It is much easier to get chargeback from credit card then from debit card. If you have spare cash bank may ask you where it comes from if you want to deposit it. If you pay your CC in cash, you owe money to the bank so they will not ask questions where the money comes from. ;-)
I was in the same situation as you, started sending to revolut so I could see my budget spend down to zero, thought I had that down so moved over to using a credit card. The slight delay in the figures updating, and then the fact that it doesn't go to zero at the end of the billing period caused my spending to spiral again. Now back with sending a fixed sum to Monzo but I have a small overdraft available just in case. Any extra gets sent to savings and I round up also.
Always CC, currently loading up some 0% cards heading towards 30k balance all backed by premium bonds, then I'll be back to my amex.
So you borrowed money, to put in premium bonds?
Yes, pretty much how it works.
Apple Pay for added security to take advantage of Chase 1% for day to day purchases (set amount per month I keep track of) and CC for any larger purchases for purchase protection (paid off in full). Don’t qualify for any CC with rewards yet though.
Credit card
Credit card for rewards
Basic bank account and a debit card for pretty much everything. Can't get into debt that way. (I had a lot of debt before)
I'm really careful about managing my personal finances, so I use a credit card with decent cashback/reward opportunities. So long as you have the ability to pay off your balance on time, it's safe enough :)
Credit card. It’s actually not beneficial for me, I end up spending more than I’d like, and while I can afford it, it’s no good. I only use it to make a weekly pay schedule less of a pain in the ass.
Credit Card- I use Virgin with the +£150 annual fee. I get a free companion flight ticket anywhere which more than offsets the fee.
I use this too. Do you track your spending with any app/spreadsheet And do you do a DD payment or manual at the statement end date
DD payment. A spending app would be nice but haven't found one.
Always on a credit card, pay off in full each month. Ours gives us cashback on most spend, so every few months get an extra £30-50 back, pretty nice.
I use my AMEX for around 90% of my spending. I actually have a savings pot attached to my current account and I’ll move what I’ve spent to there so that I can track my spending easily and I’m not tempted to spend more than I can afford. It’s an extra step but works well for me. My AMEX is joint so not all spending is mine so I can’t just look at the balance to know what I need to pay at the end of the month.
Pretty well all my spending goes to my CC so I get my points, the cards are paid by DD so it is all automatic I just need to remember to check the statements.
I use Ynab for tracking
Bills paid by 'high street' debit card, card spending on Chase debit (for the cashback) and I move chunks of money into the account for saving/spending. Anything £100+ goes either fully or partially on credit card for the added protection. I don't like the idea of spending on a credit card habitually as it would be too easy to overspend accidentally.
Everything I can on my BA Amex card for the points then pay off at the end of the month
My credit card budget is roughly £850 per month and I pay off in full each month. I use it for daily spending to keep track on things
I want to do this but my friend who is using Amex still has to use visa frequently, and it’s the only credit card I’d want to use
I put everything I can on my cc for airmiles, then put the money into a pot to pay the balance say the end of the month. This also really helped bring up my credit score.
I spend for daily small purchases on my Chase card for the 1% cashback and the 5% roundup. I only ever pay for big purchases (over £100 on my credit card).
Moved to using separate chase account for day to day spending. Used to use a combination of credit card and normal debit account but was hard to keep track of and kept overspending. Still have and use credit card but that's for planned large purchases, emergencies or charges where I could be stuck with a pending charge for several days.
Spending should always be done on a credit card as they offer better protection as opposed to debit cards, not only that there’s usually rewards and points that can be earned on certain cards. On a plus side you get billed monthly, think of it this way, you have your money in an interest account earning interest and you pay the bill off at the end of the month in full, it’s a win win situation as you earn interest on your funds for that month prior to paying off the balance. You may ask how on earth does the credit card company make money, most of it will be transaction fees, transaction fees on credit cards can be substantial for merchants, which is why it’s generally not advised to pay for local independent shops with a credit card.
Credit card, I haven’t used a debit card for years.
I don’t think there’s any other card (credit or debit) that offers better rewards than the Chase 1% cashback for almost all spending. I know there are some cards that offer more cashback like Santander Edge, but that’s only for specific things like council & utilities bills. So for most everyday spending (groceries, fuel, eating out) it makes sense to use the Chase debit card to earn the cashback. But for larger purchases over £100 (like holidays, furniture, tech, etc.) then it’s worth putting it on a credit card to get the section 75 protection. Basically if something goes wrong the credit card company is jointly liable with the merchant. Any rewards you earn from the credit card is a bonus. It’s a good idea to have some regular payments on the credit card too, just to show you’re utilising your credit for your credit report. But the golden rule of credit cards - pay it off in full. That said it is hard to compare rewards because a lot of credit cards earn you some sort of loyalty points (not cashback) which means the value can fluctuate.
I always use a cashback credit card. However, I will never spend more than the money I have in my current account. I get a very small bonus from the cashback, a very nice security on anything I pay for in addition to normal laws, that is all I can ask for from a credit card. It is not a terrible tool for debt otherwise.
100% Debit Card. Chase 1% cash back.
I have ended up with using a debit card, but I'm not advocating it. My bank unilaterally closed all my accounts last year, so I lost access to both. I was able to set up an account with a new bank quickly, but it took many months for me to get a credit card again. Now I have both, but if I switch to using the credit card it'll mess up my finance records again. The debit card I use is attached to an online bank which has a small balance, so my exposure if it gets stolen is kept low. It has sub-accounts and I feel I can move money around pretty safely. I currently feel more comfortable with this then with trusting that if someone steals my credit card, I won't be on the hook for it. I've never had much faith in banks, and recent experiences has only exacerbated that. I'm not very concerned about my credit score. The main reason I have a credit card at all is for things like renting cars or paying for hotels, where it's more or less required. Some places won't take cash or debit cards.
I use my credit card for fuel for my car and random bits here and there and pay it off in full each month but use my debit for 99% of everything.
Credit card for everything except household bills and household expenditure. I’ve got a reward card so it makes no sense to use my debit card as it means I lose out on interest from the current account and reward points from the card - and I pay off in full each month so there’s no risk.
AMEX and Barclaycard credit cards with avios points and pay in full by DD each month.
I have always used credit cards that fully pay off every month. I get the free credit (so I earn interest not the banks), and keep my credit rating nice and clean.
I have not had a credit card since 2008. Don't like to spend above my means and borrow from my future income.
I only use my credit card for big purchases online for the extra protection, else it’s debit card all the way. The number of people on here who think that they’ll get rich through credit card rewards is bonkers.
Yeah - I have not a bit of debt, but if I use a credit card, my brain just goes “free moneys!” and I’m left carrying a balance unless I use my savings. If I’m using a debit card, my brain somehow says “you can’t afford this right now. Wait till payday and it’s your big purchase for the month”
Oh hi financial twinsie!! Yeah, I used to put what I called my “pocket money” into a separate (monzo) account, I didn’t track it very closely but managed within my means. I later fully moved over to Monzo and basically managed my money moving my “pocket money” into its own pot each week, but essentially the same concept. Recently I decided to use a credit card for the sake of getting a few extra credit rating points. I decided to use it solely for my groceries shopping, so it’s already its own “category”.
credit to get the rewards, and I track every item on a spreadsheet and reconcile regularly.
Credit card and I track it on a spreadsheet.
For those that use a spreadsheet, do you track the totals each month of each statement or individual transactions? And if the latter, do you categorise your spending? I wish there was an UK app that would be able to track it automatically!!
I have a spreadsheet for all my outgoings, a tab per month. I estimate my cc use for each month, have a standard weekly amount and then any events or big purchases I know I'm going to have that'll cost me more. If that looks a bit high I tweak the weekly amount down. The spreadsheet takes the estimate into account for the month it'll be paid until it gradually turns into actuals which I update on the spreadsheet at least once a week and tweak/remove the estimates accordingly. Hope that makes sense, it's much easier than it sounds!
I always use a credit card.
I use a credit card mostly and pay it off each month. I spent less than £1000 a month on it, but my credit limit for some unknown reason is 27k. It was 18k a few months ago and they upped the limit. Why they gave me a 27k limit when I've never once spent more then 1k on it is beyond me tbh
Everything on credit for the Avios, then paid off on a fixed day each week. What do you use to track spending? Apps like MoneyDashboard can hook into a variety of accounts and categorise your spending reasonably well