I am currently typing on a Portuguese keyboard and let me tell you.. it is not as easy as it may seem. All the symbols are all over the place and if you see any errors, sorry!
Am doing my best to answer questions and keep up with the blog, but internet is spotty at best..
Virginia Girl says she just pays off her credit card statement right on the day she gets it.
Yep, I used to do that too.
But one month, I pulled out the statement and it was $850 and I thought I had it paid in full with all the payments I sent in!!!
(Ginger from Ginger Won´t Snap had the same issue)
I scanned the statement and saw payment after payment with purchases in between using obscure merchant store names and got a huge headache trying to reconcile everything to figure out how in the hell I could have misjudged the final amount by so much.
I realized the following:
1. Had no idea where my money was going2. Did not know if I paid it properly in full or if there were still pending transactions
3. I was paying, but in round amounts like $100, when the transactions are $103.25 for example. Every little bit added up.
So I came up with my current system of paying each bill on my credit card, like using a debit card, on the day that I use the card or right after.
Now, if I am even a penny off, or I think a merchant mischarged something, I know immediately.
(The only reason why I keep a credit card is for the points. I had $900 in free groceries in the past 2 years)
Anamika asks the following credit card questions:
Do you pay off each transaction, literally? Yes. Each transaction. Each amount.Does paying for your credit card in this fashion show that you are using too much credit?
No. It depends on the total amount of credit being used.
If you pay off your credit cards at the end of each cycle IN FULL, then using newly available credit is not an issue.
Credit card companies do not care how many times you spend on the card or pay off the card.
They only care about the net balance at the end of each month to calculate the interest to charge you on the remaining balance and to know whether to approve you for further credit or not.
If you have $10,000 and you have an outstanding total of $9999, you are using too much credit.
The calculation is simply the amount you owe $9999 divided by $10,000 which is 99.99% which tells credit lenders that you are using 99.99% of what is available in credit to you, and that is a BAD thing as it shows you are hard up for money and are a risky person to lend credit to.
Great questions!
I should also note that my credit card companies call me when they see strange charges on my card. I think you might have the same service, no?
When I spent $5000 paying for a bunch of trips, they gave me a call and verified that it was me who was doing the spending and not some lucky thief.
The credit card companies keep track of how much you spend on average each month, and if you really blow through the average, they call you as it is an out-of-behaviour amount for your monthly usage.
Tigerlily wanted to know if paying off your credit card per each transaction would cost more in bank fees
Er.. possibly. If you are charged an amount each time you pay off your bills or cards.
But I do not get charged by my bank at all as I pay online, and they pay ME in points (10 points per bill paid) each time I pay a bill, up to 100 points a month.
Suze2000 wants to know if the Bose headphones work
YES! They work.
Blocks out 80% of the humming on the airplane, and makes a huge difference in whether or not you can hear the music or not.
You can still hear people and the humming of the plane very faintly, but it is negligible if you turn your music up just a bit (not too much as to kill your eardrums, however).
On the plane, people liked to talk as if they were part of a little village (they were ALL flying to Porto, Portugal) and it was hard for me to get any sleep when a little group has gathered in front of your seat to talk to people around them and drink wine on the plane.
Still, they worked.
I should also note that I flew on a very large airplane, which does not quite have the hum of a small, tin can-like plane which will have double or triple the amount of noise as you are closer to the fan in the wings and the metal body is thinner.
But for long airplane flights, thumbs up over using any headphones given while on the plane, or using the Sony over-the-ear headphones that are sold for around $120 but do NOT work as well as the Bose headphones (over the ear ones). Try them in store with the Bose display that simulates airplane noise.
I only wish I could have tested the Audio-Technica ANC7000 headphones, as they cost only $200 CAD total, tax in instead of the $360 I paid for the Bose.
Still, I am happy with them and will be getting great use out of them, in and out of airplanes when I want some peace and quiet.
Thanks for the heads up on having a car in Dallas
As eking said, I am in for a world of hurt if I do not have one in Dallas or a place with air conditioning.
I think I am getting used to the atmosphere of Dallas while in Portugal, because it is DEAD HOT HERE.
I want to stay in the home from noon until 7 p.m. at night because when you walk outside even for a couple of minutes, you MELT.
It is really disgusting here. No fans in the place, no air conditioning.. just heat heat and more heat. Luckily, it is not a humid heat, so I am good to go with a little water splashing on my neck now and then.
I tried not to tan here, but it is impossible. The sun wants to shine 24/7 and I have turned a toasty brown which I am not entirely pleased with..
- Why can’t it ever be easy?
- Buying your homework is just cheating yourself
- FB Answers: More about Modern Nomadism and why I chose Dallas
- Just shut up with your excuses already
- Just stick a fork in me when I’m 50! Ish.
