Haha, you're right - I did not phrase that correctly: I use a secured CC sparingly to avoid over-utilization. In this case, I had to use my debit card.
Utilization has no lasting effect on your credit score - if you have 100% utilization one month and pay it off next month, your credit score will be the same as if your utilization was 0% the whole time. It doesn't matter for building credit in the long term.
I see, thanks for the info. I will keep that in mind.