Comments on: No credit cards – Here's why

By: Steve in W MA

Steve in W MA — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 07:01:24 +0000

For the record, I love the cash only people. It’s true that when spending cash you can never ever go into debt, and in fact will likely accumulate savings at a record rate.

I happen to use my credit card all the time, but as soon as I’m home I pull out the piece of paper from my wallet that contains my available budget figures and adjust them down for the purchase I just made.(using a simple pencil and piece of paper! I just erase the old, higher, figure and replace it with the new, lower figure.) Which basically is in the spirit of cash only because I make a point of not going over budget.

By: Steve in W MA

Steve in W MA — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 06:57:23 +0000

Pam, it’s true that a credit card rewards program amounts to about 12-20% APR “earnings” on the money you spend on a monthly basis. (Because if you earn 1% in one month, that equates to more than 12% annually on the amount. However, you’re in your 50s (as you say, been using the card for 30 years) and you’ve never earned more than that amount in a savings account then you have *no assets* whatsoever to speak of.

For your statement about your credit card bonus points outpacing your bank earnings, you’re basically saying that you don’t even have 12 times your monthly credit card bill put away in savings after 30 years of working.

Tell me it ain’t so, Pam! And if it is so, you might want to start saving some money up.

By: Bob

Bob — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 18:15:49 +0000

As of June 8, 2009, I have never and still refuse to use a credit card. I have always and will always pay with cash.

Surprisingly, my credit score is near the 740s and all I have are a few bills and student loans.

You DON’T need to be beholden to a credit card agency in order to have good credit. Besides, in this kind of economy, they could simply decide to slash you credit line and raise your interest in order to protect themselves against liability. Such an act could damage your credit by hundreds of points. So, some of you guys and gals in this room with 4 or 5 credit cards trying to artificially boost your score, consider yourself warned.

BTW, I’m only 24 and have been in the work force for 2 years.

By: 5 Ways to Dramatically Improve Your Finances . . . Beginning NOW

5 Ways to Dramatically Improve Your Finances . . . Beginning NOW — Fri, 22 May 2009 08:03:44 +0000

[...] No Credit Cards – Here’s Why :: Gather Little By Little [...]

By: Cindy

Cindy — Thu, 14 May 2009 05:01:01 +0000

Nice that you realized you didn’t need it, some people still have to learn that. I do have a credit card but am not afraid to use it because i’m 18 and need to build credit. I know what im doing by the way; i made a goal in high school to learn about investing and personal finance before i turned 18(btw some kids are learning about the stock market in school when they’re 12 like i did). I advise others to learn about what they’re getting into before they get into it

By: Rajeev Kumar Singh

Rajeev Kumar Singh — Wed, 13 May 2009 16:46:58 +0000

I totally agree that living life without credit cards is the first and foremost step one needs to take in order to make his/her life debt free. The idea of credit cards is to encourage people into making purchases for stuff which they dont really need.

By: marci

marci — Thu, 07 May 2009 20:40:08 +0000

I’m debt free, including the mortgages, but use a credit card for online and major purchases. Of course, it is paid off totally every month. It’s a convenience, and easier to use than a check.

My debit card is linked to a very very small checking account, in case of fraud, and so is not an option for larger purchases.

I also carry one when traveling – in case of emergency only. I wouldn’t be able to handle my emergency responsibilities, should one come up while traveling, without the card very easily.

By: Melanie

Melanie — Thu, 07 May 2009 20:20:54 +0000

I have one credit card– and I keep it in my wallet in case something funky happens with the debit-card machine or I break down somewhere far from home, but other than that, I never use it. (My husband does *not* carry one in his wallet. If he breaks down without me, I’ll go get him.)

We’ve clawed out of 15K of unsecured debt and I’m never going back. There are two things that I always think about when using the card– can I log on to the bank site and pay this off right now? If not, then I’m not using it. This is my MO with credit cards, always. No float, no bills due next month, no “free” money, because having experienced a layoff last year, we don’t know what’s going to happen next month. And if all of a sudden the income stopped, I’m not going to be stuck paying last months’ expenses off next month. I’m going to be free to slash the budget to the bone right this minute.

In answer to the online purchases “exception,” not true. Paypal accounts linked to your bank gives you single-use generated MasterCard numbers, which debit the money straight out of your account. If you don’t have a debit card, which also works fine.

The main problem is, the 20 or 30 dollars I could earn in “rewards” never make up for the amount I overspend (even with a debit card) so I mostly stick with cash–which I can’t seem to overspend. Ever.

By: Lauren

Lauren — Thu, 07 May 2009 17:40:56 +0000

Thanks for the interesting article.
I do use my credit cards. One in particular where I get points I use towards groceries. I don’t carry a balance. I prefer it to cash or debit as it is more secure, if I loose it, I can cancel it. If there is a fraudulent charge, it isn’t money out of my account that I’m trying to reverse.

We recently moved to the US and between jobs and moving costs had to carry a balance for a month, wow. That scared the living day-lights out of me, especially when I saw the interest charges.

The comment on the minimum payments is something most people fail to understand – you can keep putting the minimum payment on, but you will never pay it off that way, you’ll be paying the minimum till you die. The goal isn’t to get you to pay it off, they make more off you if you keep money on your credit cards!

By: Mary

Mary — Thu, 07 May 2009 15:34:12 +0000

I’d like to say “I wish I had read something like this years ago.” but I don’t think it would’ve made a difference. I really had to learn the lesson for myself. My father always told me not to get credit cards, and I found myself doing some of the same things you mention, including buying food on credit. I’ve recently gotten rid of all my cards. I am paying them all off and I have a budget that I stick to now. It’s a tough, extremely expensive lesson, but I’m glad I’ve finally learned it.