Imagine: your credit card declined—by you

Budgeting is something we all need to do but most don't want to do, or at least, often don't follow through with at every turn. But is this the answer: credit cards that cut you off when you hit pre-set spending limits in various areas of your life every month?

That's what we can expect from credit card companies one day soon. MasterCard is expected to annouce that Citigroup will be the first U.S. company to offer credit cards with an "inControl" feature that allows card holders to set all kinds of limits to stop you from spending more than your disposable income allows. The features, in theory, could lead to having your credit card turned away at a restaurant if you hit your monthly dining-out budget.

These automated features are no different from what a good spreadsheet aims to do, but it would be a point-of-purchase, potentially embarrassing stopgap if you momentarily forget that you are pushing past your monthly fun budget. Services like Mint.com already offer these kinds of alerts, but only by logging into your bank account, which it does every 24 hours. The credit-card service would be in real time, and that much more effective.

Even when it is in effect, a system like this won't be foolproof. For instance, it won't recognize that you've overspent on clothes if you bought them at a big-box general merchandise store. But it definitely is in line with a growing trend toward more automated money management.

Could you see yourself having your credit card denied somewhere because you asked it to cut you off? Do you think features like this would help you stick to your budget better?