To think most people don’t actually pay off their credit cards in full each month?

[PoliteCyanViewer]

I always hear advice about clearing your balance each month to avoid interest but how many people actually do it? With the cost of living, unexpected expenses, and temptations everywhere, is it realistic? Do you pay yours off in full or do you carry a balance?

I pay it off every month

I dont buy things I can't afford. I put things i can afford on the credit card if they are over £100 and pay it straight off as there is also the protection of section 75 of the consumer credit act.

We use it for the points but always pay it off in full, always have.

I don't know the stats. I suspect more people than not do pay it off, but a significant minority don't. The reasons for that are going to vary.

Which newspaper do you work for?

I do but I don't spend what I can't afford. I use the CC for most things as I get points = vouchers.

We only use ours for big purchases and get interest free and pay back within the interest free period. I have enough money to pay it off now but sticking with the repayments and have the money in savings.

I do! I buy all my monthly usuals, collect the reward points and clear the card. I've had it for over 20 years and never rolled a month.

Generally unless I'm having a bumpy patch. If I am I switch the balances to 0% for the longest period I can find and pay them down. Big things I always put on a credit card for the protection. When it's car MOT time I'm always poised with a cc.

When I had one we used it for major purchases (laptops, televisions etc) because of the associated guarantees, and for business expenses we were going to claim from our employers (train tickets, etc). We only didn't pay it entirely two times in 25 years and both of those were due to errors. Eventually I got rid of it as it hadn't been used in absolutely ages.

If I can't afford something, I wait and save rather than buy on the never-never. I've seen family members living with the consequences of that, and it's not a life I would wish on anyone.

I do, mostly because I have an offset mortgage so if I need to borrow that's the cheapest way to do it. But I always have, credit card interest rates are ruinous

I pay £300 a month off mine but it's interest free till July 2026 if it was interest baring I wouldn't use it

I know. I didn't say they don't make any money.

I use it for all purchases that I can to collect Avios. Also is useful for the protection a credit card gives on big purchases. Always paid off in full - no way am I paying interest charges!

I do.

I think - but don’t know - it’s pretty normal to carry a 0% balance that you are paying off over time. It’s more competitive credit than many other lending options. It just needs to not spiral!

If you’ve a zero per cent balance that you are servicing sensibly above minimum payments it makes more sense to stick any surplus cash in an interest saving account or vehicle or put it to use for yourself in some advantageous way (including spending if nec.!). That’s more valuable than repaying managed debt because of sheer debt aversion. I agree debt is inherently uncomfortable to some degree but we have a debt driven / founded economy surely.

We don’t. Used it for the 0% interest to purchase the family car and other things necessary for the home (just moved house and things are expensive). Trying to steadily pay it all off but no we don’t have the money to pay it off in one go, it just worked out cheaper than a loan for these things because it was 0% interest.

Also, we’re in the stage of having multiple young children and childcare bills, life is expensive but we know these bills will fade away as they hit secondary and we will have more money to clear these debts and return to not having anything on the credit cards then.

I do - mine attracts money off my spending which I why I got it. I pay it off every month after using it for my monthly expenses. It makes me around £100/year - not much, but every little helps

I’m 40. I’ve never had one. But then again I’m in Ireland where there is NO extra protection for buying on a credit card and also there is no such thing as building a good credit rating here, so not required really. No good options of credit cards with air miles/points either really.

Always pay off credit cards every month and always have done. We put most of our spending on cards, pay off in full monthly and get various cash back rewards.
We simply don’t buy anything we don’t already have the money for. Years ago this meant very frugal living… these days we are more comfortable.

I pay mine in full every month. I have 2 and if I had to put a large purchase on 1 that I couldn't clear straight away I always have balance transfer offers so would transfer it to the other 1 to avoid interest. Credit card interest is designed to keep people in the cycle of never paying off and is extortionate

Usually we do, but occasionally not. We get a bonus in April which we know is coming from about January, so sometimes we'll book holiday etc then pay the balance once the bonus comes in - to be clear, it's an interest free cc, so we are normally saving money by doing this.

I have two. One that I put all my personal spending on, and a joint one that we
put all household expenses on - food, petrol, meals out. Both are paid off in full, I have direct debits to pay the full balance.

I pay it off each month because I only use it for the protection.

My daily spend credit card is direct debit to pay off in full every month.

I did also get a 0% credit card for a set of large purchases when we did some renovations. We had the money to pay it off, but got a 2 year 0% credit card paying minimum amount by direct debit and locked the money to pay it off away on a high interest 2 year fix. At the end of the term moved it to another 0% credit card with 0% balance transfer, and locked the money away again. So we're paying off slowly but always have the money there to pay it off, just earning interest.

I used to have my cc only for emergencies and for the protection. My parents live in Australia and I have had to make the emergency dash twice due to illness. No way did I have the cash sitting in savings for that.

Now though I am increasingly using it to tide me over between pay days. That change has happened in the past 12 months or so.