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I have a question for all you regarding credit cards- maybe this has been asked before and if so forgive me for asking again but i would really like to know your thoughts, ideas on this matter.
My friend and i were talking the other day about credit cards she has a few and i have zero. She made the comment that everyone should not only have a credit card but also carry a small balance on it. When i told her that we do not have one cc because we live on a cash only basis ( execpt for using our debit card for paying bills etc. but that comes right out of our account) she was amazed that anyone could live like we do and told me that she thought we were making a HUGE financial mistake. Do you think she is right???
We use to have cc and loans on things and lived way beyond our means. It finally caught up with us when my dh got sick and wasn't able to go back to his well paying but just has high stress job.
We have had to totally make a change in the way we live- meaning no more loans, no more cc for us. If we can't pay cash for it than and there than we either save for it or do without it. For the most part this has worked for us although i do worry about if something majior happend i am not sure what we would do than.
Do any of you live like we do without cc? How do you manage if something majior comes up? ( like car breaks down, washer goes out etc..)
Am i being navie thinking that a family in this day and age can live without a credit card???
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I never gave it much thought when I decided to get a few cc's of my own. My major card being Discover, used for majority of pymt but kept at a low balance, usually less than $100. It get paid off every month.
I think have a cc is a good thing - it shows how well you pay back your creditor and will be a plus if you want to buy a home, car, etc.
My ex's mom pays for everything by cash, so she doesnt have much on her credit report. Having things down on paper tells more than you can, ya know?
Say you wanted to rent an apt, the run your credit report and can see from that how well you pay people.
I say in your case youre doing well, I dont know your financial / living situation. But if you feel you need to get a cc - then get one, it wont hurt. Its nice to have as a back up plan.
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I have also heard that you should have a credit card that you carry a small balance on because it's good for your credit rating. It's not something I agree with at all and I would never purposely do it even if it DID improve my credit rating (which is just fine, thank you very much). My husband and I charge virtually everything we buy on our credit cards but we pay all balances in full every month. We just don't use a lot of cash - and that works for us.
I don't think it's naive for you to expect to be able to live without a credit card - and from what I've heard, you are certainly not the only one who does. In this day and age, it would be easy enough to get a credit card (at least one with a small limit) fairly quickly if you ever really needed to anyway.
IF it would make you more comfortable, you could get one credit card for emergencies and store it in your safe (or another safe place - just not in your wallet!). That way you would have it if you ever needed it for an emergency. BUT, I would only do that if having it would not cause you to go into debt again. Know what I mean?
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I used to have a HUGE amount of CC debt because of careless spending. Now I'm a cash only basis. I use my debit card for gas only. I put away a certain amount every pay for those unexpected events. My goal is to get to 10,000 and as I take out when I NEED it I make it like it's another bill. Now if my washer or dryer went I usually do 12 months no payment,. but make a montly payment over the course of the year so that it's paid off.
My feeling and I've read that what you charge you should pay off every month. I honestly do believe that we can live on a cash only basis. It's very hard because we are in a have it now society. I'm not cleaning out and simpilifying my life to buy more crap.
I have 200 a month spending money, that's it, for misc. dr appt. I take 50 a month for b-day and x-mas gifts 150 a month for IRA, 300 amonth towards my saving account. What comes out or do every 3 of four months, I break it down into a monthly amount and set it aside in a seperate checking account. I'me following the Mary Hunt Debt proof living. Now I do still have my target - but cut up because I have to pay it off, sears, kohls and ann taylor because if I charge on it I pay it back with the money I set aside already. I sometimes use those cards because I get great deals, kohl's 30% with free shipping. I can't turn that done.
But I think with debit cards and credit cards we buy WAY more then we really need. And for me when I have cash it hand, I have to really think about what I'm buying and if I'll really use it. Sometimes I have more month then money at the end, but I just have to learn to do with out and budget even more. I honestly feel better using jus cash, and I'm not worried about how I'm going to pay the CC. And honestly, I physically got ill thinking how much I've paid to cc and refinancing to get out of this mess. NEVER AGAIN. Either pay off what you charge, but why pay them interest.
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My Dh and I have 1 (one) credit card that we pay off every month. We use it only for gas, my business and other misc that may come up. We pay cash for groceries, entertainment, diapers, eating out, clothing and about 4 other categories. I believe that yes you can do cash only. I admire you for doing it. My dh and I are just hard nosed frugalists and having a credit card is not tempting for us. However, I will say that it is amazing to see how much our grocery bill can come down to just by using cash!!
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i think having one as an emergency is not a bad idea but that is only if you can be good and not use it.. you are obviously doing well with your cash only method...here is a little story for you about my grandpa its kind of funny and is in regards to cc....
mr grandpa is in his 80's and has done very well in his life and with his businesses..he has never had a credit card ever in his life..he has never needed one and has always had the funds to pay cash part in thanks to his good business sense. well this past year he was talking to the gal at the bank(grandpa loves people and is very outgoing) he asked her if she thougt he should have a credit card she said if you want one we could apply for one and he decided maybe i should have one(after all these years i don't know why he now thought he needed one) . so she helped him apply for one and guess what he could not get one at all he did not have a history of credit at all since he has never had a loan or cc's so as wealthy as he is he can't even get a credit card...i just found it amazing. he does not really need one and is well off enough that he never really would it was just the fact he could not get one. so that is something to consider for down the line in 10 or 20 years when the world has evolved even more.
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Well we have credit cards but we carry no balance on them. We pay them off every month when the bill comes. I like it because I don't have to worry about if I have cash, I can order stuff over the internet, and I get a rebate back so I actually MAKE money having credit cards. But if people have trouble with spending too much if they have the cards and end up with huge balances, then yes, I think they'd be better off without them.
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I guess i should add that when my dh and i had more income and i honestly didn't worry to much about how much we were spending. ( how stupid was i uh??) That i was not the one with the spending problem- my dh was. My dh is bi-piolar and when he would be on his " up swings" he would go and spend, spend, spend. Half the time i wasn't even aware of what he was doing- Not until i got sent the bill anyway.
We ended up loosing pretty much everything because of it all ( that and him not being able to go back to his well paying job) . We have had to start all over again from bottom up and now i am the one who is in charge of the finances. We of course discuss things but i am the one who pays the bills, puts us on a budget etc.. We live pretty frugally now and honestly i like it that way. - Less stress!
I guess i just wondered if my friend was right and maybe i should get a cc and keep it in our safe deposit box for emergencies. Although i am sure with our not so great credit score that we would have to get one of those cards that you have to pay for and i am not sure that is worth it either.
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We couldn't do without a credit card because we travel too frequently. Hubby travels for his job and needs a cc for business expenses which are re-imbursed. We couldn't make airline reservations, hotel reservations or rent a car without a cc. Yes, I know you CAN but it is soooooo much easier when you have a credit card in place. And because hubby does international travel it is so much better to have the cc company calculate the exchange rate as they give a better deal.
Yes, you can get a cc in your name and not allow your husband to charge on it. I wouldn't recommend carrying a balance on, though. As long as you pay-off the balance, that's fine.
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My DH tried an experiment that lasted a year. We used to use credit cards to pay for everything including our bills and then made one payment to the card every payday to pay the balance off. He decided our credit score would improve without the lines of credit so once our mortgage was paid he paid off all the credit card and cancelled the lines of credit. He assumed with the equity of our home and rental property as well as substantial retirement savings would speak volumes of our ability to manage money.I tried to tell him this was going to do more damage than good but it didn't make sense to him so he did what he wanted.
A year later he checked our score and found it was 100 pts worse. He was shocked, a financial counselor was able to explain it in a way he could understand. He doesn't agree with the reasoning but has agreed to return to our previous ways of managing our money.
We now use a credit card that has frequent flyer miles that never expire and have no limit on accrual. We use it for all our spending including bills then make a payment every friday to pay of the balance. We requested a limit that does not exceed my weekly pay that way we cannot overspend. It works really well for us.