Society operates on credit and you're only hurting yourself by not engaging in the benefits of having a credit card. Use it like a debit card and you'll earn cash back and you will build your credit.
Live within your means.
It's the same in the UK - there's a world of benefit in showing that you're able to use credit products responsibly and there is no risk or any cost if you just treat a credit card like it's a debit card.
Anyone who says 'it can't happen to me' either has very rich parents or is a fool.
Responsibly using CC isn't about "relying on future income to pay off present debt". If you have 5k in the bank, don't spend more than that, and pay it off at the end of the month (or if you're paranoid like I was right out of school, pay it off every week)
Most people don't use credit cards to borrow. The point of the credit is just to hold until the end of the next month and then pay off in one go. The point of doing that is to allow a period of time to resolve any disputes for example.
Credit cards give you extra consumer power - actual extra laws backing you up (at least where I am).
I can't understand people who don't like credit cards if they say it's not living within your means.
With a credit card, you've introduced a new failure mode where you can end up in debt. If you do it right, you won't, but the cc companies know that a lot of people will mess it up--that's their business model.
It's a bit like with alcohol. If you never drink, you can be 100% confident you'll never become an alcoholic. If you do drink, even a little bit, that chance goes up. Plenty of people are able to drink responsibly, sure, but I can understand wanting to avoid the possibility entirely.
But it's more dangerous than using a debit card where a stolen card ties up real money during the dispute window.
Also, you can have a credit card limit set low enough that maxing it out still means you can pay it off.
That's how people become unstuck. Very few people start off with bad intentions.
That's true--my solution to this is not keeping too much money in my checking account.
Other than showing some opaque credit agency that your ok for more credit.
Which ones specifically? If they are truly for free then I don't need to pay for them by virtue of having a credit card.
In the UK it's Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, 1974.
> Under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974, the credit card company is jointly and severally liable for any breach of contract or misrepresentation by the retailer or trader.
> You don't have to reach a stalemate with the retailer or trader before you can contact your credit card provider - you can make a claim to both the retailer and credit card provider simultaneously, although you can't recover your losses from both.
> This right is particularly useful if the retailer or trader has gone bust, or it doesn't respond to your letters or phone calls.
> Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act also applies to foreign transactions as well as goods bought online, by telephone or mail order for delivery to the UK from overseas.
https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/section-7...
> If they are truly for free then I don't need to pay for them by virtue of having a credit card.
But law says you only get these protections if you buy on credit.
Chargebacks, protection against a stolen card, no real money being tied up during a dispute, etc.
>If they are truly for free then I don't need to pay for them by virtue of having a credit card.
Every consumer is already paying for them because business price in the credit card fees into their retail prices. If you don't get a discount for using cash/debit, you are already paying for this protection.
In the US, by not using a card, you are still paying for the benefits without getting them.
I have all of this already.
And they price the risk of a card being fraudulent, which isn't specific to credit cards.
This credit agency determines your ability to rent with a low deposit and your ability to purchase a home with a loan.
Using a credit card does not mean living outside of your means. I have used a credit card for 20ish years and have never carried a balance.
That's not living beyond your means.