Paying for stuff

[skippy1999]

Well, it could, if you dragged your sorry self up here now and then.

next year

[bluestreak]

ah ok it's about paying at the park which doesn't pertain to me   carry on.

It starts out like that. Later on that page it goes into paying for stuff more generally. SOme talk about reconciling receipts. Some like me talk about putting everything on a credit card and paying for it once a month to decrease transactions. We also delve into electronic and smartphone options.

If you're interested in that sort of thing, I didn't want you to miss. Read to the bottom.

[skippy1999]

It starts out like that. Later on that page it goes into paying for stuff more generally. SOme talk about reconciling receipts. Some like me talk about putting everything on a credit card and paying for it once a month to decrease transactions. We also delve into electronic and smartphone options.

If you're interested in that sort of thing, I didn't want you to miss. Read to the bottom.

Thanks, I'm not a huge techie but I did recently discover the joy of Venmo and not having to worry about sending checks to family members when we go in on birthday presents and such, that app is totally worth it.   

[bluestreak]

Thanks, I'm not a huge techie but I did recently discover the joy of Venmo and not having to worry about sending checks to family members when we go in on birthday presents and such, that app is totally worth it.

Venmo and Paypal are fantastic. It's great to avoid carrying around cash. It also means I can pay back my friends as soon as I owe them money. I don't actually have to see them to send them their cash or a check. I have been out and realized I forgot my wallet. It was so easy to borrow money from friends and literally send them the money back instantly via Venmo. It's almost obviated the need for checks as well.

With things like apple pay and samsung pay gaining more acceptance and venmo and paypal, I can negotiate 95% of my transactions without carrying a wallet. As it stands, I can carry one card and some cash for tips, etc, and a driver's license.

For those that are wary, here are what I see as the advantages:

It actually is much easier to budget and manage finances if every single transaction is in the same place. I mentioned I put everything on my credit card which is linked to my phone. If I never use cash, I can go back and see exactly what I spent my money on 6 months or 2 years ago. And the software can break it down by category so I get nice pie charts showing how much I spent on restaurants, or sporting events, or groceries. You can do that if you use case, but it takes a lot more work. This is effortless.

If I lost my wallet, it's such a pain, I have to cancel cards individually and then wait for replacements to be mailed. If it's all on my phone, that's locked with a biometric identifier. If I lose it, I simply remotely wipe it, get a replacement and then just upload it all back to the new device. It can be done in an hour.

If you aren't tech savvy or have a general distrust of payments going electronically, then this probably isn't for you, but I find it quite compelling.   

[HalfSmokes]

I’m fine with PayPal as long as Amex stands between me and them, I don’t understand people who give PayPal access to their checking accounts- they are so lightly regulated (ie not at all) and their dispute systems seem almost random. Of course I also never use debit if I can help it- everything goes on one of three credit cards depending on which give the best cash back for the purchase and they get paid off at the end of the month.

[varoadking]

I use cash primarily/exclusively for tips/gifts.  I use 3 credit cards to pay all of our bills...except for those 3 credit cards, of course....from Dairy Queen to Real Property Taxes...and enjoy free airfare and hotel stays from the points earned.  When I use PayPal, it is with my AMEX as the source of funds.  The 3 credit cards are paid off each month.

I pay all of our bills electronically if given that option.  My trash collection service is a mom & pop and does not accept credit cards, so I stroke them 1 check for the year at the beginning of year.  That may be 1 of maybe 5 checks I cut all year, and very likely the only stamped mail I use all year.

I keep an Excel spreadsheet to manually keep track of monthly/quarterly/annual payments, and use the mailed bills only as a reminder to pay.  I did not go paperless so that my wife can track everything thru the mail if/when I check out.  The spreadsheet also tracks assets, and income that is all direct deposited.  That 1 sheet contains all of the information I know I will need to file our State and Federal taxes.

I also keep a Quicken log that I download all transactions to.

[Count Walewski]

Over the past year, I've gotten much more disciplined about using credit cards efficiently. I used to just have one credit card that I put everything on, and was haphazard about things like sometimes paying cash or check, but now I have four credit cards and use them strategically for various categories of spending (i.e., one card for gas, one card for restaurants, one card for Amazon, etc) to get the highest points return. I hope to finance most of my next vacation this way.

My sense is that with the advent of chip cards, it's often faster to pay cash for things, but lots of people feel that simply carrying cash around (and things like having to go to the ATM when you run out of cash, etc) is burdensome to them. Regardless I try to charge whatever I can now for the points, unless the fee to do so is greater than the 2-5% I earn in points or cash back.

My biggest expenses - mortgage and daycare - alas cannot be paid via credit card.

[Mathguy]

Vark - why do you use 3 instead of all in one ?  Do these have different benefits ?

Navy Federal Credit Union provides a list of all credit card transactions at the end of the year and groups the transactions into about 20 categories.  It's a good way to look over all expenses for taxes and budgeting purposes.

I use cash primarily/exclusively for tips/gifts.  I use 3 credit cards to pay all of our bills...except for those 3 credit cards, of course....from Dairy Queen to Real Property Taxes...and enjoy free airfare and hotel stays from the points earned.  When I use PayPal, it is with my AMEX as the source of funds.  The 3 credit cards are paid off each month.

I pay all of our bills electronically if given that option.  My trash collection service is a mom & pop and does not accept credit cards, so I stroke them 1 check for the year at the beginning of year.  That may be 1 of maybe 5 checks I cut all year, and very likely the only stamped mail I use all year.

I keep an Excel spreadsheet to manually keep track of monthly/quarterly/annual payments, and use the mailed bills only as a reminder to pay.  I did not go paperless so that my wife can track everything thru the mail if/when I check out.  The spreadsheet also tracks assets, and income that is all direct deposited.  That 1 sheet contains all of the information I know I will need to file our State and Federal taxes.

I also keep a Quicken log that I download all transactions to.

[bluestreak]

Vark - why do you use 3 instead of all in one ?  Do these have different benefits ?

Navy Federal Credit Union provides a list of all credit card transactions at the end of the year and groups the transactions into about 20 categories.  It's a good way to look over all expenses for taxes and budgeting purposes.

I imagine to maximize rewards as different spend categories offer different levels of awards for different cards.

[HalfSmokes]

Vark - why do you use 3 instead of all in one ?  Do these have different benefits ?

If you’re capable of paying them off and keeping track of them, why wouldn’t you- if you shop at amazon a lot, there are amazon cards with 5% cash back, Amex has one with 6% on groceries and 3% on gas, and there are all purpose cards that give 1.5-2% on everything, and that’s not even touching cards with miles rewards

[varoadking]

I imagine to maximize rewards as different spend categories offer different levels of awards for different cards.

You nailed it...

I use a Delta Platinum AMEX for points on Delta Airlines...we use Delta for overseas travel...

I use a Chase United VISA for points on United Airlines at every place that doesn't accept AMEX, like COSTCO...we use United for most of our domestic travel...

I use a Chase Marriott VISA only when staying at Marriots Brand hotels for the 6X earnings...and we generally only stay at Marriott Brand hotels...

[Count Walewski]

For me, a lot of the value from a credit card comes from the sign-up bonuses. So between now and my next big vacation, I plan to open a new credit card every few months, spend enough money on it to qualify for the bonus points, and then pretty much abandon it. You can get 2-3 years worth of points as a bonus sometimes.

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

I had to give up my Yap stone coins for travel abroad with the advent of the aviation age...sucks

[Mathguy]

Here in the Outer Banks, there's much talk about a coin shortage.  Is this a problem in the DC area as well ?

[Count Walewski]

Here in the Outer Banks, there's much talk about a coin shortage.  Is this a problem in the DC area as well ?

I haven't a clue because it's been months since I attempted to pay for something in cash. However, Snopes claims it is true nationwide:

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/coin-shortage-covid/

[MarquisDeSade]

Here in the Outer Banks, there's much talk about a coin shortage.  Is this a problem in the DC area as well ?

That's pretty much nationwide but I only noticed in the Outer Banks when I thought I needed coins for the laundromat.  Fortunately there was a laundry place in Manteo that had a really sweet Raspberry Pi based key card system. 

[1995hoo]

I seldom go to a laundromat because we have machines at home, but every once in a while I need to wash a car cover that's too big for our machines. The laundromat I've used over on Rose Hill Drive doesn't take cash in the washers and dryers themselves. Instead, you buy a card from a vending machine and you use that card to pay for the machines, and you add more money to the same card when it runs low. I guess it's sort of like how the coin-basket exact change lanes ("Toll Machine" lanes, as the orange signs said in New York City) have largely disappeared because most tolls are now too high to make throwing in a load of coins viable. The laundry machines cost too much now to allow for sticking some quarters in the little tray.

[OldChelsea]

[...]The laundromat I've used over on Rose Hill Drive doesn't take cash in the washers and dryers themselves. Instead, you buy a card from a vending machine and you use that card to pay for the machines, and you add more money to the same card when it runs low.[...]

That's the sort of system we've had in the apartment block I reside in. Before that we had an odd system called 'tokettes' in which one would buy little green plastic pieces which one would stick in the tray and push in.

[varoadking]

It's now $7.75 to send a letter sized envelope by USPS Priority Mail.  Mailed to a Northern Chicago suburb on Wednesday the from the Fashionable West End of Henrico County, VA with an expected delivery date of Saturday the 10th.

That's Priority?

OTOH, my mother mailed me an envelope with $3.00 postage on  it...for what reason I have no idea...from a Northern Chicago suburb on Monday, September 29th, and I didn't get it until Monday, October 5th.

So I guess 3 days is Priority when the option is 7 days...but "Priority" to me should be 2 days...max... 

[1995hoo]

Even when the USPS used to call it "two-day priority mail," the "two-day" part was explicitly stated not to be a guarantee. Delivery in one to three days is still not guaranteed with Priority Mail. If you must get it there promptly, use FedEx or UPS.

[DCFan]

Even Amazon’s 2 day prime shipping is a thing of the past.

[Vega]

Even Amazon’s 2 day prime shipping is a thing of the past.

I don’t really mind it taking longer. I typically order stuff way before I urgently need it anyway.

[HalfSmokes]

Even Amazon’s 2 day prime shipping is a thing of the past.

Most of its same day or next day now around here

[1995hoo]

Even Amazon’s 2 day prime shipping is a thing of the past.

We're not Prime members because we haven't seen the benefit. Even when we order something that has the "free super saver shipping" that's supposed to take longer, it usually comes extremely quickly, within two or three days. My mom is a Prime member because she and my father had it. I don't know whether she plans to renew. I pushed her to check out Prime Video prior to renewal time in case she likes it, as I know the two of them never watched any Prime Video while my father was still alive, but I don't know whether she's done so.

[DCFan]

Most of its same day or next day now around here

Down here it’s getting stretched out.