61–70 of 145 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Paying "manually" doesn't mean writing checks and mailing it out. You just log into your bank and click pay instead of have it paid automatically.
It's still "manual" work. Why bother? Set it and forget it.
When everyone under the sun seems to be playing games? It’s a good way to get taken advantage of.
I recognize that I might be speaking from a position of relative financial privilege, but it doesn't seem limited to people in acute financial distress?
Maybe it works differently too. I've read stuff about having to use a CC to build a credit score, or something along those lines, just to be able to get a regular loan in the future? In that sense it could perhaps be seen as a sort of investment?
Genuinely confused (as always).
"Most people who enroll in autopay choose either the minimum payment or full balance, said Wang." This is the problem. You should always be able to comfortably make the full payment if you manage your budget proactively—I highly recommend YNAB for this. If you can't proactively manage your budget, you should be using a debit card.
It’s also arguably innumerate, or at least financially unaware. The middle option is the optimal choice, as it gives you a free one-month loan from the bank. Interest doesn’t accrue until you’ve carried a balance over month to month.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why though? Are you actually paying the full statement balance in time each month this way and this avoiding interest charges? If so, then by paying before the due date you're giving away money unnecessarily, especially with interest rates at 5% now.
Not the OP, but the most likely reason I can think of is manual payments give an opportunity to review all charges. But still having the minimum set to autopay ensures that if you forget or unable to, the consequences are less severe.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Too much effort? Takes me maybe 30 mins a week. Seems like very little effort in exchange for being on top of your finances.
30 minutes a week seems like a lot. (Admittedly the alternative of scanning your credit card bills and bank transactions is not zero but it's a lot less.)
The headline is not supported by the article. The actual truth of the article comes in the middle: > Borrowers who use autopay pay off between 8% and 17% less of their monthly credit-card balances compared with customers who make manual payments, according to the study... When credit-card customers sign up for autopay, they typically have three options for monthly payments: the required minimum, the statement balance…
Manually paying would have caught the issue before it snowballed. Setting up autopay for the full statement balance in the first place would have entirely prevented the issue, as the extra money went entirely to luxuries that they thought they could afford.
I set up my (Swedish) CC bill to autopay the full amount each month. I only use it for emergencies though. It seems like it's really common elsewhere (the US) to use it for larger purchases. Isn't it very uneconomical? I recognize that I might be speaking from a position of relative financial privilege, but it doesn't seem limited to people in acute financial distress? Maybe it works differently too. I've read stuff…
And Europeans took a lot longer to move from cash to electronic payments, IMO. The US has been using credit for everything for as long as I can remember.
I set up my (Swedish) CC bill to autopay the full amount each month. I only use it for emergencies though. It seems like it's really common elsewhere (the US) to use it for larger purchases. Isn't it very uneconomical? I recognize that I might be speaking from a position of relative financial privilege, but it doesn't seem limited to people in acute financial distress? Maybe it works differently too. I've read stuff…
I also pay my cards in full each month so there are no interest charges, just a few with annual fees that are more than covered by the card benefits.
I don't know what it is, but autopay causes me so much mental load. Instead I go over my bills every two weeks, following the tune of my paycheck. Every two weeks I check all credit cards, pay my mortgage, utilities, etc.
Bills that are auto-paid.
Bills that are late.
The auto-paid ones are completely on auto-pilot. If I have a particularly heavy spending month (maybe we took a trip somewhere), I might open my bank app to make sure there's enough cash in the account to cover the auto-payment. (Or I might not and either there will be, or auto-overdraft-protection will kick in and I'll end up paying a few bucks in interest.)