Using My Credit Card Again — Talk About Playing With Fire

Since I’ve been doing so well, I felt I’d try using my credit card again, with an important caveat. Every single day when I use it, I pay off the full balance of all my purchases the same day.

This effectively means I’m using it as a second bank account — my current bank does not charge for any bill payments, so I won’t pick up any extra fees that way.

Part of the thing is my credit card offers 1% cash back — obviously not the best, and that’s obviously how they get you. I mean, of the $1600 or so I’m carrying on there, most of it is from interest anyway, and you don’t get cash back on interest.

It does seem silly to let the card effectively go to waste, especially if I swear to only use it for real purchases — this would be things that I would typically buy — and if I pay it off every single day so that, simply put, it acts as another bank account.

While 1% isn’t a lot, over the course of a year it can add up. If I put all my purchases on it, and say I spend $10,000 a year, I get $100. Not too bad, and while it isn’t a lot, it’s key to remember it is money that I would have spent anyway. Plus, that 1% contributes to paying down my bill, which is a good thing.

Ultimately, it’s an experiment. It’s not a clean balance, I only have $200 room of credit on there, so if I do overspend and this goes horribly and the old habits kick in an destroy me, I’ll have learned a valuable lesson.

Stay tuned!