Comments on: No credit cards – Here's why

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.

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

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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.

By: Paula

Paula — Thu, 07 May 2009 14:58:18 +0000

I have recently joined the ranks of the credit card free. I haven’t used my cards in some time (with two of three maxed out, one almost paid off). I’ve been spending a lot of time reading PF blogs lately, spurred by events in my own life that impacted my ability to pay my bills. I am spending far too much each month paying credit card bills – money I should have been budgeting and saving instead. It’s my personal finance epiphany – we’ll see how it goes. It’s a pleasant thought that I can get out from under this and stay out for the rest of my life! Thanks to GLBL and others for helping me see the light!

By: Weekly Roundup: Kids, Old Bread and Ducks Edition | Frugal Dad

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[...] No Credit Cards – Here’s Why. A very convincing argument against using credit cards. I know this argument will never go away, but the more antics credit cards pull the less I want to use their product. (@ Gather Little By Little) [...]