Whoa!
Here we are, just getting our Christmastime bills. What should we notice on our Costco American Express bill but that the closing date has magically advanced from the usual 20th of the month to December 21.
Isn’t that cute?
If you are one of the retrograde frugalists, like me, who budgets a specific amount per billing cycle for charge card purchases, you might have you carefully waited until the day after your billing cycle customarily closes to go out and rack up a bunch of Christmas presents, planning to pay for them out of your January income. In that event, your gift from American Express would be a big fat finance charge.
Luckily, the last charge I made in the November-December cycle came on the 17th. I was under the weather around the 20th and 21st and so delayed shopping for last-minute presents until the 23rd and 24th.
If I had felt better, I almost certainly would have gone out on the 21st, thinking the billing cycle closed on the 20th. And I would have been screwed, screwed, ge-screwed, because that would have pushed me way over budget. I couldn’t have paid my bill in full this month.
Sumbitch.
Credit card companies are not your friends.
(Just in case you hadn’t noticed that yet…)
😯