It’s too easy to overspend when you have credit cards and a high credit limit. And the thought of setting up a monthly spending budget makes most consumers cringe.
But customers of Discover Card can at least track and organize the spending they do with this credit card. That’s because Discover offers the free Spend Analyzer Tool to its cardholders.
This online service helps customers track how they’re spending their money, how many purchases they’ve made with their Discover card in any given month and whether they’re overspending at restaurants, grocery stores or retailers.
And the best news of all? Cardholders don’t have to sign up to take advantage of this tool.
Use Discover’s Spending Analysis Tool to Start Budgeting Today!
Accessing the Spend Analyzer:
The Spend Analyzer is available to all Discover Card customers. To find it, customers can log onto the tool’s home page. From there, they can click on the “Log In” link to log onto Discover Card’s online Account Center.
Cardholders enter their user ID or account number and password. Then, the spend analyzer will open, presenting consumers three different charts that show them exactly where and how they’re spending their money.
The Pie Chart:
First, there’s the pie chart showing visually how much cardholders spend in such financial categories as supermarkets, medical services, gasoline, restaurants and retailers.
By clicking on the graph, cardholders can bring up the data for each of these categories. They might discover by moving their mouse over the supermarket category that they spent $300 last month in supermarkets on three transactions. They might also discover that their supermarket spending accounted for 35 percent of their total Discover card charges that month.
Spending History Graph:
The Spend Analyzer also offers a bar graph showing how much cardholders charged during a given month. By holding the mouse over one of the months, consumers can instantly see how much they spent in that month, the largest transaction they charged during the month, the average transaction size and the total number of Discover card transactions they made.
Transactions List:
The bottom half of the Spend Analyzer is devoted to a list of cardholders’ transactions for the month. This looks a bit like a paper credit-card statement. But users can click on the list’s headings to organize their purchases by date, retailer name, amount or category.
The Final Verdict:
Discover’s Spend Analyzer tool may be simple, but it’s also an effective way for consumers to better track their spending habits.
By logging onto the site, cardholders might discover that an amazing 50 percent of the money they charged last month was devoted to eating out. By having this spelled out so clearly, consumers can take steps to change their overspending habits.
