Working with credit cards
Credit cards are not your free money, they are your normal accounts. Let's discuss how to use them.
How to Track Credit Cards
It doesn't matter what's your credit limit, the balance of your credit card starts with $0. This means that you don't owe anything to the bank. If you owe something right now, then enter it as a negative amount.
Each purchase moves the balance further down the negative amount. This means that you owe that money to the bank.
When it's time to pay your credit card, you record a simple transfer from your other account (checking, for example) to your credit card account. The new credit card account balance will be 0.
Important! Paying off your credit card is not an expense. Your real expenses happened when you spent money from your credit card. Paying off the balance is returning borrowed money to the bank = transfer.
How to Use Credit Cards Responsibly
The rule is simple. You must pay off your credit card balance each month. Interest on credit cards is usually pretty high. That's not in your interest.
Treat credit card not as "FREE MONEY", but as a super convenient method of payment with sweet bonuses like air miles, cashbacks, additional warranties and insurances. Just don't be the one who is sponsoring all those features with interest payments. Pay your credit cards in full each month.