First let me say “use caution” , be smart and DO NOT do this unless you know beyond a shadow of a doubt you can be disciplined and not spend unnecessarily! I do not advocate the use of credit cards and it has taken me 53 years (at the time of this writing) to feel comfortable enough to do this.

I found a credit card company that did not charge fees and that offered a points back bonus after you spent so much money (a realistic amount) within a 3 month timeframe. While I was waiting on the card to arrive, I contacted everywhere that I pay on a monthly basis (utilities, water, internet, insurance, etc) and made a list of the ones that did not charge a fee to pay with credit card. Then, when the card came I began to pay everything with this card…everything from gas to monthly expenses.

I still use a check register so what worked for me was to continue to write down all my spending in the register and subtract it out just like the money was coming out of my checking account at the time I used the card. Then at the end of each week I will reconcile my cc account to what I have written and pay it down to a zero balance every week.

Again let me caution you and say I didn’t buy anything that I wouldn’t have bought anyway nor did I buy anything that there wasn’t money in my checking account to cover any by paying it off weekly there was no surprises and no temptation to overspend.

By putting the majority of my spending on the card it didn’t take long to accumulate enough to reach their “bonus” amount which was then FREE MONEY to me! The particular card I chose gave $200 cash back so I made $200 and didn’t change a thing within my spending habits! Now that I’ve gotten the initial cash back I continue to earn a percentage on what I spend so I will let that accumulate and then cash it in as well.

See where I’m going with this? It’s a continuous money making cycle IF you can be disciplined enough to only spend what you have the money for and for things you would buy anyway, things you have already budgeted for.