Stand up comedian and ventriloquist Jeff Dunham made a little point about Americans. He said that his teenage daughter, who was learning how to drive, didn’t know how to put gas in. When it came to paying for the gas, however, she was quick in swiping the credit card. While this is more of a nod towards teenage girls and women, it was a subtle hint at the general American culture. Rarely do we use and bring cash when we go to the grocery. This means a lot of things; one of them being we can purchase pretty much whatever we want since we can pay for it LATER.
The problem is that we strive for convenience but we are given a different end result. Now, whether you are just starting to live frugally or you want to start being frugal, knowing how to use the credit card the right way can make or break your frugal lifestyle. There’s a catch, however, which is you should use your credit card according to the situation that you are in. For instance, let’s talk about debt reduction first.
Debt Reduction
You may have been in this situation before, where you used your credit card happily and impulsively that you end up getting headaches as to how you will be able to pay those bills. First off, one thing you should NEVER do is cancel the other cards. This hurts your credit rating a bit. As for the debts themselves, you just have to put a little planning in your purchases. Calculate your monthly – or biweekly – income and expenses. Now, calculate how much you can pay for your debts.
With what you have left, you’ll have to make due. This is where frugal living comes in – and most times, forcefully. If you do not have enough for your daily expenses, then consider a lot of frugal options such as jogging or riding a bike to work, and bringing your own home cooked lunch.
Now that we have that out of the way, let’s talk about three ways you can use your credit card wisely, depending on your situation.
Not Buying Bulk
If you’re planning to increase your credit rating, you simply have to make frequent purchases that are easy to pay off. For instance, instead of buying bulk as frugality calls for, you may want to make separate purchases every week – but it all amounts to the same thing. Sure, you may lose a little bit more in going to and from the grocery, but then you can still employ the usual frugal tactics such as walking to the grocery or commuting so as to not spend too much on gas.
Buying Bulk
Buying bulk is always a cheaper option, but what you may want to do is to buy bulk of cheaper products. For instance, if you want to stock up on cereal, go for the generic cereal unless you have an addiction to Kellogg’s. By buying bulk, you get more for cheap. By buying cheaper items in bulk, you get even more for even cheaper. When buying wholesale, always check the expenses, as you may get carried away with being frugal and you still end up having to pay a lot for your credit card bills.
Ultimatum
If all else fails, you can always just NOT use the credit card at all, since it is the problem to begin with. By bringing cash instead of plastic, you are forced to think about spending your money. You get to have second thoughts about the limited amount of cash you brought, and start thinking about better ways to spend them on, and this forces you to go to the cheaper sections of the grocery store.
If you want to get into frugal shopping, you can start looking for discount coupons and keep an eye out for discounted items you can get without coupons. Remember, being frugal is all in the head. If you think you can do it, you can do it.
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