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| Just charge it? |
Do you use credit cards? If so, why? Do you have one just for emergencies? To rack up points for prizes and airline miles? To make ends meet between paychecks? Sadly many people rely on credit cards solely for the latter reason. I know we did.
We are not responsible with credit. It’s not the credit card companies fault. It’s not society’s fault. If it was, there wouldn’t be millions of people that use credit responsibly and who only benefit from their usage. I don’t think that credit card companies picked on us alone when they wanted to be paid and we didn’t have the money to pay them. It was OUR fault.
So we made the decision to live without credit. To some, it’s an incredibly drastic decision. To us, it’s an incredibly practical decision. It’s like if you KNOW you have a sweet tooth, you keep the sweets out of your house when you are on a diet. It’s just smart.
Unfortunately, society has conditioned us to feel that we HAVE to have a credit card for life’s emergencies and to build up our credit to buy a home, car, etc. If you’ve ever listened to Dave Ramsey though, you know that is just not true. Cash speaks a lot louder than a number. If you aren’t playing catch up with the credit card companies, you can stash away more in the bank. Can you even imagine paying CASH for a car? It is possible.
You don’t have to have a credit card. I’m not saying credit cards are evil, and IF you can use them responsibly there are some fantastic perks to being a loyal credit card holder. The sad truth is, that most of us simply can’t. If we could, our country wouldn’t be where we are right now. Society is pushing us to live outside of our means. I’m saying, live within your means and if you can’t trust yourself to pay off that credit card bill in full the month it comes in…get rid of them.
It’s drastic. It’s not the norm.
To quote Dave Ramsey, “If you’ll live like no one else, later you’ll live like no one else“. When I first heard that I chuckled a bit and thought “Okay Dr Phil”. It’s true though. If credit and debt makes you feel out of control, try a cash only lifestyle. You might be shocked how doable it is.
Now we are not strict Dave Ramsey-ens. We haven’t even taken the class (keep meaning too!). We have read his book though. If you want to check it out, it’s on Amazon right now for $14.61 for the paperback: The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness
Be honest with yourself. Are you responsible with credit cards? If not, I encourage you to read Dave’s book or attend Financial Peace University at a church near you.
Do you have a money saving tip? Link it up here at Money Saving Monday! To get the word out, I’d love if you posted the button on your blog so others can come join in. If you don’t have a blog, write your tip in the comments!
Link up here!
This post is in no way an advertisement for Dave Ramsey. If you buy his book from Amazon, I might get a teeny commission. Honestly though, that had no bearing on me writing this post. I don’t know Dave, have never met him…and actually think he seems kind of mean. He’s a smart guy though and he knows his stuff.
We use our credit card for the points well cash-back, as soon as I get home I go online and automatically transfer the money over. Our credit cards are always payed off and we have learned to never buy something that we do not have money in our checking account for. Our Discover Card has some great cash back options for grocery stores and gas and I use that cash back to buy us extra things, I normally trade the money in for a JcPenney Gift Card to get my boy's pictures taken.
Now that's the best way to use credit cards! I'm glad that you are able to use them responsibly and not be tempted to live outside of your means. It's not an easy thing to do, that's for sure!