Here’s a question. Do you know what your credit card statement day is for each of your credit cards?
The credit card statement day is the day of the month when your credit card statement starts each month. This is usually dictated by the day you opened the credit card account and so it’s different for each individual and for each credit card.
For instance I have 3 credit cards, one has a statement day of 5th of each month, another is 8th and the last one is 16th.
why is this important?
This is an important question to answer when it comes to budgeting with your credit cards, because it’s the difference between paying for a purchase next month or in two months time.
For example, if I’m spending and I’ve reached my budget for next month – because whatever I’m spending on credit card now will be paid next month and so falls into next month’s budget – then it’s important to know that if today is the 12th of the month then if I purchase something on the credit card which has the statement day on the 16th then I’m going to exceed my budget for next month, because I know on the 16th I’ll be issued a statement and it will include this recent purchase and indicate that it will need to be paid the next month.
But, if I switch to using one of my credit cards which have the statement day on the 5th or 8th, then the purchase will be payable in 2 months time, because I will get the statement for those the next month and it will ask to pay the statement the month after (so in 2 months time) and subsequently will be part of the following month’s budget.
Where can I find my credit card statement day
To find the credit card statement date for each of your credit cards, you’ll have to check your credit card statements. You may have to check a few statements, as credit card companies will sometimes be a day early or a day late in issuing the credit card statement depending on weekends and holidays, but it will usually be the date on which the statement is issued.
Check your 3 latest credit card statements and looks for out for either what day of the month your statements are being issued each month.
Or if this date seems to change month to month and not be consistent, then you can
a) average the days across the 3 statements (they shouldn’t be that far off from one another)
b) check what day of the month the first transaction on each of your credit card statements is on. This will usually indicate that this the day your credit cards statements will start in future, especially if the previous day’s transaction occurs on the previous month’s statement.
congrats! Now you know
if you’ve found your credit card statement day, congratulations! You’re one step closer to mastering budgeting with credit cards.
At spenditures, we utilise the credit card statement day to help determine which month’s budget you credit card purchases are organised into so it’s clear what you you will have to pay and when, so you can more effectively budget and plan your finances.
Thanks for reading and until next time, hope you have a great day.