What if I want my credit card to act like a checking account?

In Roo, a credit card is set to Payback Mode by default. This means the balance does not lower the money in your pouches, but Roo still brings in the transactions for you to swipe. As you swipe, that money is set aside in your Payback Pouch, so you have the cash to pay the statement. This is on purpose: a card’s balance is money you owe, not cash you have. See Credit Card Strategy.

Some people like to count their credit card balance as part of their budget. In cases like this, because the balance is money you owe, it lowers your available cash. This lets you see, right now, how much you would really have if you paid off the card today.

This only works if you have a lot more cash than you owe. You need enough to pay off the card today and still fund your pouches. If you owe too much, the negative balance can make it look like you have no money left to spend.

To make a credit card act like a checking account, set the card’s behavior to On Budget (see What if I want to change an account behavior? for the steps). Roo will then count the card’s balance in your budget, lowering your available cash by what you owe.