All Forum Posts by: Gerry Deida

Welcome to Biggerpockets, @Gerry Deida! It is good that you acknowledge that you can have a weakness, and the first thing to do is make sure that you absolutely do not let yourself down. Start out by setting up one or 2 monthly bills to autopay from your credit card. Use the card for nothing else. Hide it from yourself if need be... freeze it in a block of ice....something.

Right after you set up two monthly bills to autopay from your credit card, then turn around and set up your credit card to be automatically paid the monthly balance from your bank account. Now, everything is automatic, you're using some credit by paying bills you'd already pay from your bank account anyway if you didn't have the card, and you're safely building credit.

It looks to be a cashback type of card, so this will essentially be free money to you every so often as long as you're paying your full card balance every month. If you pay a penny in interest, the benefits quickly won't matter (and certainly won't be free).

As for the rest of your budget, I say write it down on paper or an excel spreadsheet. Put down your monthly income (after taxes). Then subtract every single monthly bill you have...even small ones...even silly ones. If you have a bill that's not the same each month, come up with the average and use that. Don't forget unexpected items. Budget money for unexpected monthly items. And definitely budget to pay yourself as in put money into a savings account!