How do you pay for things? CreditCard, Debit (interact), Cash or other...

[alsoknownasDean]

Rent is via direct debit,  most of the bills are via BPay,  and the remainder is either either debit (EFTPOS or Visa Debit) or cash.

Too many places are still cash only. I don't carry more than maybe $60 at a time normally though.

The only rewards credit cards I can find have an annual fee,  so I figure it isn't worth it.

What annoys me is how hard it is to find a wallet with a coin pocket in it.

[Zikoris]

As much credit card as possible. Rent has to be paid by cheque, unfortunately, but basically everything else earns us points. Since we split expenses right down the middle, credit cards are just SO MUCH EASIER since at month end we can just each pay off our half, rather than have to screw around with transferring money between each other's bank accounts.

[CassieInVa]

Same here, BofA rewards card. 1-3% plus then they match 75%.  Gotta love that!

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[Dollar Slice]

What annoys me is how hard it is to find a wallet with a coin pocket in it.

I had a really hard time with this the last time I needed a new wallet. All I wanted was something that fit in my pocket had a place for coins. It sounds like it should be so easy! Women's wallets all have coin sections but they are too big for pockets. Men's wallets are pocket-sized, but no coins. My mom ended up finding one for me when she was on vacation in Spain.

[RetiredAt63]

The banks have specials - I ditched my last MasterCard for a different one with much better rewards.  Technically it has a high fee, but my fee for the first year is zero.  I did it on the phone with BMO client services, and told the client rep that when the fee kicks in next year that I will either ask for no fee, or switch to another one.  Of course the interest rate is higher than on the old card, but since I never carry a balance, the interest rate is irrelevant (and if for whatever reason I could not pay it off in full at once, that is what my low interest personal line of credit, present balance $0, is for).  Staying with the same credit card and the same bank made the switch effortless - my online banking shows the credit card, the only change was the actual card number, all the old credit activity is still there. 

Of course none of the cards seem to have the same level or reward as the ones in the U.S., but we take what we can get, right?

The only rewards credit cards I can find have an annual fee,  so I figure it isn't worth it.

[daverobev]

The banks have specials - I ditched my last MasterCard for a different one with much better rewards.  Technically it has a high fee, but my fee for the first year is zero.  I did it on the phone with BMO client services, and told the client rep that when the fee kicks in next year that I will either ask for no fee, or switch to another one.  Of course the interest rate is higher than on the old card, but since I never carry a balance, the interest rate is irrelevant (and if for whatever reason I could not pay it off in full at once, that is what my low interest personal line of credit, present balance $0, is for).  Staying with the same credit card and the same bank made the switch effortless - my online banking shows the credit card, the only change was the actual card number, all the old credit activity is still there. 

Of course none of the cards seem to have the same level or reward as the ones in the U.S., but we take what we can get, right?

The only rewards credit cards I can find have an annual fee,  so I figure it isn't worth it.

If you keep $5k in a BMO premier account you can get the cc fee waived. New cash back card (1.75%, comes with auto breakdown cover), and the travel one (4 airport lounge uses a year) are good.

Compared to the US, no, not amazing, but not bad. There is an RFD thread about 'best ccs with at least $200 sign up bonuses' and there are at least 10 of them. $2k ain't bad.

[russianswinga]

I'm into credit card hacking, so CC for almost everything (always paid off every statement).
- Costco American Express for Costco trips / car rental while traveling (for the insurance)
- Health insurance, bills that take CC, etc paid for via one of the airline cards to get miles: Southwest card, American Airlines card, next in line after I get bonus miles on American will be Delta card, and Chase Sapphire.
- ACH transfer from checking for bills that do not take CC

[bb11]

Almost always credit card. I usually keep a couple bucks cash for the "cash only" places.

[Villanelle]

Pretty much anything that can go on a CC does.  I'd be turning down free money if I paid cash. 

[Teacherstache]

Anything that can go on the CC without paying fees higher than rewards goes there. This is both for the reward and the ease of tracking. Recurring bills are set to auto-deduct from the CC to streamline the process even more. If it can't go on the CC, it is set to auto-pay from our checking account (utilities, mortgage, CC payment). I do not have a debit card. They closed mine due to inactivity. I never withdraw cash. I sometimes randomly have cash from a gift or being paid back by a friend or similar. This lasts me forever, because I just don't use cash.

[johnny847]

Anything that can go on the CC without paying fees higher than rewards goes there. This is both for the reward and the ease of tracking. Recurring bills are set to auto-deduct from the CC to streamline the process even more. If it can't go on the CC, it is set to auto-pay from our checking account (utilities, mortgage, CC payment). I do not have a debit card. They closed mine due to inactivity. I never withdraw cash. I sometimes randomly have cash from a gift or being paid back by a friend or similar. This lasts me forever, because I just don't use cash.

So do you not have a bank account or something? Or do you only have savings accounts without debit cards?

[KittyCat]

So do you not have a bank account or something? Or do you only have savings accounts without debit cards?

He mentions having a checking account sans debit card.

[johnny847]

So do you not have a bank account or something? Or do you only have savings accounts without debit cards?

He mentions having a checking account sans debit card.

/face palm. Stupid me.

Teacherstache, they closed your debit card to inactivity?? What country are you in? And what bank is that? I haven't used my debit card in almost a year for one of my bank accounts, and they haven't closed my debit card (or maybe they did without telling me....?)

[KittyCat]

I have a savings account with a credit union that ate up $20.09 due to account inactivity fees. It has $5 left sitting there to maintain its minimum balance. Found out a few days ago. I think it was inactive for a year and a half or two. Oh well :)

[Debts_of_Despair]

Why do people set arbitrary minimums for credit card purchases?

[midweststache]

90% go on credit cards (most groceries, utilities, pet supplies, entertainment, etc.). All our CCs are rewards cards, and we're careful to recognize when our Chase Freedom cards go on 5% cash back--totally exploited this when, during our wedding, there was 5% back at restaurants (our reception was at a local brewpub)! We cash in our rewards at the end of the year, and we're looking at near $700 in rewards right now, with three months to go.

Rent and phones are checks automatically cut from CapitalOne360 and sent to our landlord and family plan administrator (DH's mother), respectively. Aldi groceries are put on debit.

We occasionally have cash for cash-only purchases (hairdresser tips, cash-only restaurants, etc). Cash purchases are fairly rare.

[johnny847]

Why do people set arbitrary minimums for credit card purchases?

People as in...merchants?
I'm pretty sure that the merchant fee is a flat charge + a percentage.

[locass316]

mortgage water hoa electronic payment

everything on cc to meet min spend for promo and then on to the next card

[HPstache]

My wife and I are on a fairly strict cash budget.  We do both have CC's that we use for mostly internet purchases, gas, and travel for work.

[rocketpj]

All bills are online through internet banking, except a couple that go through my cc.  We don't use the cc much - except for business expenses.  I like to keep life & business separate, but I don't mind a few points from business related stuff.

I usually carry a bit of cash, mostly for things like bus fare if I need it.  I will get a $20, then see how long I can make it last.  Sometimes it's weeks, on vacation it can just be a day or two.

Most things like groceries are with the debit card, mostly because we don't keep much of a cushion so I don't want to overuse the cc.  If we decide to built up our liquidity a bit more we might just switch it all to the cc, but not yet.

[Dexterous]

I do nearly all of my shopping on military bases or amazon.  For base shopping, I use USAA's new american express credit card that earns 5% back, and for amazon I have their prime rewards card that also gets 5% back.  Those cards are paid automatically from my checking account, and reward me a few hundred dollars per year.

[Drifterrider]

I was wondering how you pay for things.

Credit card for virtually everything non-mortgage.  I get cash back.  If I need some cash and I'm not at my credit union's ATM, I make a small purchase with a debit card (gum, candy, soda) and get cash back.  No ATM fees, no transaction fees and I want the soda anyway.

I don't pay cc interest nor an annual fee. 

[Debts_of_Despair]

Why do people set arbitrary minimums for credit card purchases?

People as in...merchants?
I'm pretty sure that the merchant fee is a flat charge + a percentage.

Sorry, I meant buyers. People are saying they don't use there CC for purchases of less than $10, for example.

[johnny847]

Why do people set arbitrary minimums for credit card purchases?

People as in...merchants?
I'm pretty sure that the merchant fee is a flat charge + a percentage.

Sorry, I meant buyers. People are saying they don't use there CC for purchases of less than $10, for example.

Good question. Unless the merchant doesn't allow it I don't see why not

[Dollar Slice]

Sorry, I meant buyers. People are saying they don't use there CC for purchases of less than $10, for example.

For very small purchases, the cash back I get is tiny and the fees charged to the merchant are high. I don't need to punish a local business just to save a handful of pennies. If it's a large national chain, then I don't really care and I'll use a card...