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Seeking advice. I'm having trouble handling monthly finances and week budgets with multiple credit cards. What should I do? (lemmy.selfhostcat.com)

submitted 1 day ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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I feel I should get rid of them or stop using them but most have good benefits so I am unsure what I should do. I tried using YNAB but it isn't how I think about money. I really need to stick to my budget but with my partner and child I feel money is constantly flowing out.

Sams card great for Sams and gas. Free. Only use for the above.
PNC unlim good all around and free.
Older PNC card, told not to cancel because it is free for my credit. Only pay utils on it. Not worried about this one.
Amazon card, 5% discount on amazon for family essentials, free.
Amex, 95$, good all around, and great customer support.

I'm thinking I should possible cancel Amex and Amazon because they easily add up, then focus on just using my main PNC unlim card. Thoughts on this?

The Amazon discount and Amex purchase protection are both nice but having more than one with so many purchases as a family is stressful.

I don't see any reason to cancel the old PNC card or Sams card. Use around 100$ a month on them.

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I'm not a budget person either. I just look at what I have, and decide if I can afford something.

My advice:
There's no good reason to have more than one "daily driver" card.
Get rid of the specific store cards. Sam's and Amazon.
Choose between the Amex and PNC unlimited, which one will be your daily card. Get rid of the other.
The old PNC you just use for utilities, might be worth keeping for your credit rating. But only for quarterly, or better 6 month bills.

This way you can more easily see your monthly spending all in one place. Then make your choices.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Thanks for your advice! :) I think I want to get rid of the Amex because of the fee.

I agree with you but what about the loss in discount at those stores? Or is that how they’re “getting me”? Making me feel the 5% is worth the frequent use of that card in addition to others?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

5% is almost nothing. It's less than sales tax in most places.
How much is the extra mental work and stress worth to you?
For me it's an easy sacrifice. You could minimize it, by going with some card that gives 1-2% on everything.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago

Thank you! I had never considered it this way. It’s a lot of stress for only 3% extra back. That is not worth it at all! I think the PNC already gives 2ish%.