> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://bowbudget.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Credit cards in an envelope budget

> How credit cards work in Bow: card spending, paying the card, debt from before Bow, overspending, interest and fees, and cards in credit.

Every credit card has a payment envelope in the **Credit Card Payments** group. It holds the money for the card's bill.

## Spending on a card

When you buy something on a card, the money leaves the envelope you chose, like Groceries, and moves into the card's payment envelope. The money for the bill is set aside as you spend, so you only spend what you have.

## Pay the card

**1. Tap +, type the amount and choose Payment**

**2. Choose the account in Pay From, then the card**

**3. Tap Add at the bottom**

The payment uses the card's payment envelope first. If you pay more than it holds, the rest comes from Ready to Assign.

## See where it stands

Open the card's payment from Budget. A ring shows how much of what you owe is set aside, and tells you what to assign to pay it off.

* **Current Balance** shows where the card started the month, its spending and charges, and its payments and credits.
* **Available for Payment** shows what was left over from last month, what you assigned, spending your envelopes paid for, and payments made.

## Debt from before Bow

Debt you had when you added the card isn't covered by envelopes yet. Open the card's payment from Budget and tap **Set a Payoff Goal**, under Payment. Choose a monthly amount or a date to pay it off by. The card's payment then shows how much to fund each month; assign that much to it.

## Overspending on a card

If a card purchase is more than its envelope held, the envelope turns orange (red if some of the overspending was cash). Cover it from another envelope, or the uncovered part becomes card debt. See [Cover overspending](https://bowbudget.com/docs/overspending.md).

## Interest and fees

When you log a card's interest or a fee, choose **Interest and fees** as the envelope. It adds to what the card owes without coming out of an envelope.

## Cards in credit

If you pay more than a card owes, the extra is still your money, so it stays in Ready to Assign, like cash. Spending on the card uses that credit first, and only spending beyond it becomes card debt.


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