If you use CC for everything how much is your monthly bill?

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Forum -> Household Management -> Finances

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crystal

Tue, Jul 05 2016, 9:05 am

We are a family of 6 kh and I use credit card for everything for the household, for outings, extras etc, everything except grocery and when I need cash for cleaning help and wig washes. My average monthly bill is $2000.

My husband thinks this is excessive and wants me to cut. I feel that while it's true I don't hold back much from spending when I want something (within reason), I'm not overdoing it. What do you think?

I don't know how to add a poll but can you tell me if your bill is under 1000, about 2000 or above that?

mille

Tue, Jul 05 2016, 9:19 am

Do you pay it off monthly, or are you accumulating debt? I'd say $2k of debt a month is pretty high. Keep in mind even a low interest credit card charge around 10% of interest per month, and 10% of 2,000 adds up! It's money you are just throwing away, essentially.

We put literally everything, as much as possible, on our credit card. We do it to get reward points and miles, and we have an auto debit set up so it is paid off in full every month. We've had $0 worth of interest charged. We probably spend about $3k on the credit card monthly which includes rent. But, it doesn't really matter how much we spend, as long as it's within our monthly budget. No difference between this and cash (except we get greater benefit from the card!)

amother

Oak

Tue, Jul 05 2016, 9:26 am

at first I was like wow that's not high at all compared to us and then I saw that you don't use it for groceries... we do and groceries plus diapers, wipes... really adds up.

amother

Jetblack

Tue, Jul 05 2016, 9:54 am

Whether it's excessive depends on your income.

Tue, Jul 05 2016, 10:01 am

It would help to break it down to different categories so we could see how you are spending your money.

SRS

Tue, Jul 05 2016, 10:02 am

Excessive is completely dependent on income and other factors. Do you have debt besides a mortgage? Are you putting away 15% of income towards retirement or maxing out retirement? Do you have a fully funded emergency fund? Are you saving consistently for other future needs?

amother

Papaya

Tue, Jul 05 2016, 10:11 am

We are family of 3 and our credit card bill was over $4000 last month. Ooops. Definitely too much but we are struggling with bringing it down. And that doesn't include our big expenses like mortgage and car lease or car insurance. On average it's between $3-3500. BH we make enough to pay it off monthly but don't have much for savings.

amother

Crimson

Tue, Jul 05 2016, 10:21 am

We are a family of 4. I put everything except rent, utilities, car payment and insurance and tuition on the credit card. Our average bill is around 2k. We pay it off each month Bli ayin hara. I would say half of that is food and a good chunk is gas. The rest is miscellaneous items.

mommy3b2c

Tue, Jul 05 2016, 10:36 am

Lol. If my c.c. Bill was only $2000. My husband would throw a party. Mine is between $4000 and $5000.

amother

Saddlebrown

Tue, Jul 05 2016, 10:41 am

We use our credit card to pay everything we can, so it's pretty much everything with the exclusion of mortgage, car payments and childcare. Our monthly bill is usually between $2500-$3000 and we pay it off every month.

nicole81

Tue, Jul 05 2016, 11:07 am

It's really hard to respond to this post without any context. You say it's true that you don't hold back from buying things that you want, but that you don't overdo it. Do you manage the bank accounts and bills? Are you saying this with absolute certainty based on the fact that you do the budget for the family and know that you are only spending within your means? Or does your husband solely manage the finances and your opinion on your spending is just based on what you think would be considered "overdoing it" or not.

Even if you bought a new sheitel every month, that wouldn't be overdoing it if you managed your finances and had enough income coming in to afford that after all bills are paid for and money put away for savings and retirement. But if all the wants that you don't hold back on are taking away from your family's ability to pay for necessities as well as savings and retirement (which I view as necessities), then yes, it's quite likely that you are spending in excess.

The thing is, it doesn't matter what we think and what we spend, as it's all relative to our own lives and incomes. You need to live within your own means, and the issue is your husband thinks you're overspending. If you already budget together, then perhaps sitting down again and going over finances and building a mutual understanding around mutual goals would be helpful. If you have no hand in the budgeting at all, then consider asking him to do the budget with you so that you can either see where he's coming from, or be able to justify your expenditures using actual numbers rather than a feeling. And if you want nothing to do with the budgeting, then you just need to trust him and cut back.

amother

Pearl

Tue, Jul 05 2016, 11:17 am

Ours is probably between 3000 - 5000 depending on the time of year.

2K wouldn't even cover our tuition we put on there + food. (We pay over 2K in tuition a month)

- Food = $1000
- toiletries
- Diapers + wipes
- Tuition (girls are on the credit card) = $960
- clothing
- car repairs
- phone bill
- electric bill - summer AC bill can go as high at $500
- Gas - 100 minimum

and we aren't big spenders. We pay off our bill every month in full b'h.

Optione

Tue, Jul 05 2016, 12:21 pm

Childcare, car, rent, cell phones don't go on the credit card.
Everything else including food, diapers, household items, clothing, gas etc. goes on it.
We baruch Hashem are very careful to only spend what's available in our checking account.
Our monthly bill is about $2000. Family of 5.

tovasara

Tue, Jul 05 2016, 2:33 pm

I'm sure this was said above, but being that so many purchases are documented on the bill, it should at least be doable to go through and analyze what can be cut, if anything. Much easier to track than using cash for everything.

crystal

Tue, Jul 05 2016, 2:44 pm

Ok reading the responses I'm embarrassed to admit that my card doesn't include the mortgage, tuition, insurance etc. My husband does the budgeting and bills and my card is just buying stuff. I realize I do need to rein it in a bit....

Nicole, I'll take your advice and speak maturely to my dh about it. Until now I was offended and angry, feeling restricted when he brought it up.... Time to grow up I guess and be responsible.

Thank you all for helping me.

Eta: We are not in debt BH and pay the bill monthly. I need to work this out not so much for financial reasons as much as taking responsibility for myself and my actions.

madys

Tue, Jul 05 2016, 3:48 pm

Mine is usually around $2,000 a month and I put all the groceries and gas on it. Also on-line shopping and any extras. No tuitions or utility bills, those are paid by check

Family of 5 (2 teenage daughter and a 12 year old son)

amother

Tan

Tue, Jul 05 2016, 4:13 pm

Were a family of six. I would say that basically everything goes on the cc except cleaning help and mortgage. Our cc bill is about 5,000 dollars a month. I'll add I live in Israel where the cost of living is pretty high.

amother

Aqua

Wed, Jul 06 2016, 9:32 am

nicole81 wrote:

I think a new sheitel every month would be overdoing it, so even if it is well within their means, a DH would have the right to claim that it is excessive. Even down the line weddings and bar mitzvahs cost money, I would be very annoyed if my husband was buying a new suit monthly even if we could well afford it, I would rather save that money no matter how much I had in the bank and would call his purchases "overdoing it".

Bernie

Wed, Jul 06 2016, 9:59 am

The question isn't how much you are putting on the cc but how much you are spending. If your husband doesn't like such a big bill hitting at one time, you can always pay off the cc halfway through the billing cycle - no penalty for early payments! But if 2000 is too much for your budget, it's too much whether its on cc or in cash. The two of you are the only ones who can decide what amount of discretionary spending will be doable in your circumstances. I think that except for the very disciplined, the more we have, the more we spend.

nicole81

Wed, Jul 06 2016, 10:16 am

amother wrote:

Well, my example including putting away for savings, which of course includes for simchas as well as a myriad of other future occurrences, would-bes and could-bes. And I personally would never want to begrudge my husband a closet full of new suits if that's what he wanted and we could afford it in every sense of the word. But savings does mean something different for everyone and I'm nowhere near living this fantasy anyway Smile

The bottom line, however, is in that you say a husband would have the right to claim such spending is excessive. Indeed, marriage is a partnership and both parties need to have a common understanding around finances, unique to their own budget, circumstances, and goals. Which is why I suggested that the OP communicate with her husband around money (which she ultimately said she was going to do, and I hope it was helpful!)

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