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Paying Monthly Bills With Your Credit Card

Posted by J.S.

July 8, 2008

For most lenders, bankers and others in the financial world, the first thing they say is no. Never do this as it is a dangerous practice. Under some circumstances, that may actually be the case. In others, maybe not.

A young person needed to establish credit. In order to do so he/she applied for one credit card with one of the companies that specialize in helping to establish or re-establish credit. Although the interest rate was significantly higher than what this young person was comfortable with, he/she decided it was the best option at the time.

As previously recommended, this young person opened a revolving credit line at a jewelry store that also specializes in helping people to establish credit. He/she also had a cell phone, automobile insurance and a monthly car payment to make. The automobile was difficult to obtain because this youngster had no prior credit.

This young college student decided at the time of the vehicle purchase, it was time to start creating a positive credit history. Paid twice a month, utility, rent, car, insurance and cell phone payments never coincided with due dates for the bills, which left this youngster always running a few days late on every payment.

Determining this was not a good system, he/she decided to make some changes. Every month he/she started paying everything except the rent with his/her new credit card. At the end of the month, one week prior to the due date, the balance on the credit card was paid in full. After two years of having this credit history showing everything paid on or before its due date, applying for a home loan was a breeze.

The reason some would think this is not a good idea is because many do not have the discipline necessary to use their credit cards in such a manner. Far too often, monthly bills only get paid by credit card when finances are tight or something such as illness or job loss deems it a necessary.

This young person also applied for a gas card. While unwise for most under the age of 25, he/she managed to never exceed his/her monthly budget for gas. Although he/she lived with the mantra of “if I can’t pay cash for it, I don’t buy it” finding this method of bill paying actually worked for his/her advantage. After two years of perfect credit, with three or four lines of credit open and nary a single late payment on anything, his/her credit rating was flawless.

This is a rare scenario for a person under the age of 21, but in this case, it was the right thing to do. It took diligence, determination and a will power not possessed by many, young or old. By the time this young person reached the age of 21, he/she owned his/her car, was purchasing a home rather than continuing to rent and had a credit score in the mid 800’s. He/She also set into motion a format for paying all of his/her bills on time, every month and without worrying about which bills fell due between paydays. In the two years that followed the purchase of his/her first home, this young man/lady had the credit limits raised on one of his/her credit cards and has gained enough reward points to take a trip to Hawaii. Not a bad result for something others told him/her was not a sound financial decision.