Tip
Review and pay your credit cards weekly. It’s easier than it sounds and can help you catch things you might have forgotten, like subscriptions or unexpected charges made by your kids.
Bonus: Paying weekly can boost your credit score by increasing your available credit, which I’ve noticed firsthand!
That’s great advice. I have been doing that for over 5 years. I log-in to my accounts several times a week and always pay whatever charges have posted. Doing this also helps me if any of my cards have been compromised since I get to see phony charges quickly.
We had some large medical bills recently (wife got upgraded lenses for cataract surgery with astigmatism correction - not covered by insurance), we got the $3000 charge yesterday, and I paid it off yesterday. I do not want the credit agencies seeing me use that chunk of credit. I disappeared it.
My wife had cataract surgery this fall as well. She also had a severe astigmatism since childhood and opted for some corrective lenses that were adjustable post-surgery with the use of high-intensity ultra-violet light treatments. They completed surgery on both eyes in two days, (a tad scary,) and continued light treatments for another four weeks.
Her last check-up showed 20-20 in both eyes. I had the surgery last year and opted for the fixed-corrective lenses and have 20-15 in one eye and 20-20 in the other. It worked out great for both of us.
My lenses were $3K and my wife’s were $10K. I paid the $10K Visa charge in less than a week but still noticed my FICO go from 810 to 780 or so and come back to 795 in two or three weeks later. Now, a month later, it’s around 805.
I have noticed my credit score goes down temporarily with every car payment. Don’t know that I quite understand that. My credit score is mid 800’s. Also, Credit Karma is free and gives you great tips in reference to your credit score maintenance.
WAIT… WAIT… WAIT…
Can’t you just accomplish the same by autopaying the entire card balance, not just the previous statement balance?
My Costco Visa from Citi closes on the 3rd, I was thinking, “Oh yeah, I’ll just pay it off all the way five days before closing to have a margin of safety”, then I realized, “Hey! 28th is my autopay date!”
Thanks for your comments; if that works for you, great!
Apologies if I wasn’t clear earlier. I use my credit cards for almost everything, so I end up with many transactions. When I wait until the end of the month to review them, I don’t scrutinize the charges as thoroughly as I do when reviewing weekly.
By focusing on fewer transactions at a time, I can take the time to identify purchases made by my wife or kids. When I review monthly, I tend to make more assumptions. For example, I recently decided to cancel a subscription because I had more time to think it through during a weekly review.
This approach not only helps me raise my credit score but also gives me a better understanding of my spending habits and makes it easier to spot fraudulent charges.
By the way, my credit score was already in the 800s before I started the weekly review.
irst, I’m glad to hear the medical procedure went well.
Great strategy! I’m confident your score will bounce back quickly. Thank you for sharing your comments.
On a recent podcast, Clark mentioned that credit card companies are reporting more frequently, which could explain the fluctuations you’re seeing.
Wishing you both a speedy and successful recovery!
I lowered by balance alert from $5000 to $1000. That will tell me to look and pay if I desire.
I did that on one of my cards but once it passes $1,000 they send a notice for every additional charge. If it happens early in the billing cycle it can be a nuisance.
For me a nag or nuisance is good it would motivate me to pay it off!