Hi everyone
Yes we did pay a lot of the principal & that was the intention. It is good to look at the balance once a week. It makes me less inclined to spend – do I really need that $100 shirt or is the money better left in the account.

Yes, it is easy to overspend when using a credit card (& it is a constant worry for my hubby as we now have a $20000 limit and he thinks I might just have a bit of a spending spree). You need to have a budget & stick to it. Thats not to say you cant go out for dinner or do spontaneous things, but with good software/calculations you can work out how many months that new couch or holiday is going to add to the term.

Sach, our credit card is 55days and has an award program (which we recently redeemed some points for a 68cm TV). Our LOC loan is set up so that it automatically pays the balance of the credit card at the end of the month (I always check on the internet though – cause I dont want that interest repayment)

the budget is based on what we normally would spend on utilities, groceries, the usual P&I repayment etc. I check credit card reciepts weekly to make sure that we are on track (only takes about 20minutes)

Software – for the first few years I used the software that you can subscribe to on the mortgage free Australia website. Recently I have been using different software – both are a good way of keeping track

regards
M[]