Paying off balance in full each month

Grade_A_Reject

I'm with Proliant on this one. Surely the extra day's interest gained by leaving it until the very last minute would be insignificant compared to the charges levied for a late payment.

Although I wouldn't pay the bill as soon as it arrives you need to allow a safe margin of error between you sending the payment and it clearing onto your card. As other posters have said a Direct Debit is by far the best way of making sure the payment goes out on the due date.

~Chameleon~

Grade_A_Reject wrote: »

I'm with Proliant on this one. Surely the extra day's interest gained by leaving it until the very last minute would be insignificant compared to the charges levied for a late payment.

I agree with you there if we're just talking about an extra day or so but the OP stated that she paid the bills as soon as the statement arrives and that can often be up to 3 weeks before actual payment is due.

Again, it all depends on the amount of money involved but, for e.g., my two main spending credit cards can have balances of £1000+ a month between them which are then paid off in full each statement so the amount of "extra" interest earned soon mounts up

PROLIANT

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

Well obviously that will all depend upon the rate of interest you're getting in either your current or instant savings account, and also on the amount of money waiting to be paid out.

The ethos of this site is all about maximising our gains and making our money work for us rather than lining the pockets of large corporate companies.

Ever heard the saying "watch the pennies and the pounds take care of themselves"?

Yes I have heard of that old saying however I only apply it to general living i.e shopping, utilities etc, I am all for "lean" living.

Grade_A_Reject

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

I agree with you there if we're just talking about an extra day or so but the OP stated that she paid the bills as soon as the statement arrives and that can often be up to 3 weeks before actual payment is due.

Again, it all depends on the amount of money involved but, for e.g., my two main spending credit cards can have balances of £1000+ a month between them which are then paid off in full each statement so the amount of "extra" interest earned soon mounts up

Absolutely. The trick is to gain as much savings interest by paying as late as possible but not at the risk of missing the due date and incurring interest and late payment fees on the card. DD is by far the best way of doing this which is how all my cards are set up.

PROLIANT

If your total bill's are say £1000 per month then leaving the coin in your bank account for a week or two will gain the life changing interest of...£1.63 per week from a High interest current account like Alliance and Leicester @ 8.5% AER, not worth the extra metal thought process of planning payment dates, I would rather think of more constructive things to do in my life like looking for a better job, further education to gain a better job etc! Everybody to their own I suppose.

~Chameleon~

PROLIANT wrote: »

If your total bill's are say £1000 per month then leaving the coin in your bank account for a week or two will gain the life changing interest of...£1.63 per week from a High interest current account like Alliance and Leicester @ 8.5% AER, not worth the extra metal thought process of planning payment dates, I would rather think of more constructive things to do in my life like looking for a better job, further education to gain a better job etc! Everybody to their own I suppose.

But there is no "extra metal thought process" (whatever that means) in planning payment dates if paying by DD as it's all taken care of every month by the banks

Even if making manual payments, most banks have a forward payment facility these days so it's just a case of setting up payment to go out 3-4 days before due date then forget about it for the rest of the month until your next statement arrives and repeat the process.

YorkshireBoy

PROLIANT wrote: »

...will gain the life changing interest of...£1.63 per week...

...and then you'll (probably) be taxed on it, leaving £1.30! £15 a year...how much is a late payment charge? £12-16?

I agree with Proliant. Get the bills out of the way, and what's left is your own.

YorkshireBoy

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

But there is no "extra metal thought process" (whatever that means) in planning payment dates if paying by DD as it's all taken care of every month by the banks

For many people, this means remembering to bring the funds back from your (linked or not) savings account in readiness.

Personally, I'm paid the last Friday of the month...so anywhere from the 24th to the 31st. ALL my DD's are set to leave my account between the 1st and 5th of the following month. If I'm paid early (ie 24th), I may shift the bills value to the savings account linked to my current account for a week or so. If I'm paid late (ie 31st), I don't bother. My savings (salary less bills) value is usually the only transfer I make each month to my high high interest savings account held elsewhere.

All spending is put on credit card, and any cash I need is drawn from my 6.5% A&L current account, which has a £2.5K float.

leicsmarkyr

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

For many people, this means remembering to bring the funds back from your (linked or not) savings account in readiness.

Personally, I'm paid the last Friday of the month...so anywhere from the 24th to the 31st. ALL my DD's are set to leave my account between the 1st and 5th of the following month. If I'm paid early (ie 24th), I may shift the bills value to the savings account linked to my current account for a week or so. If I'm paid late (ie 31st), I don't bother. My savings (salary less bills) value is usually the only transfer I make each month to my high high interest savings account held elsewhere.

All spending is put on credit card, and any cash I need is drawn from my 6.5% A&L current account, which has a £2.5K float.

Why dont you make your bills come out a bit later and earn a bit more interest?

So if you paid at the latest 31st; get your bills paid between 15-20th of the month. That way you will get half a month more interest

PROLIANT

leicsmarkyr wrote: »

Why dont you make your bills come out a bit later and earn a bit more interest?

So if you paid at the latest 31st; get your bills paid between 15-20th of the month. That way you will get half a month more interest

We are talking about £1.15 after tax on every £1000 balance in your account, unless you are wealthy and hold a substantial balance in your account then you will make very little profit, and most banks with an offer of high interest on their accounts cap the balance at around £2500 so anything over this you lose out as the interest drops to 0.1% AER.