Can one live without a credit card?

[Ima saver]

Spounds like a good idea, simpleselu. I have started leaving my credit cards at home. It is just one more than that could get lost.

[timl]

Originally Posted by JoyJoy

Yesterday I was listening to CNN's consumer report Gerri D and she stated paying for gas with cash can save one up to four cents a gallon. Also to buy gas when it's cooler outside as opposed to when the temperature is high. There were other tips about gas consumption which may be found on CNN Money.

Or, even better, get one of the many free rebate credit cards, pay the balance every month and save 5% on gasoline, that is around 15 cents per gallon. Sure beats 4 cents/gallon. I'd rather keep the 11 cents/gallon difference than give it to the gas retailer by paying cash.

[funnyvalentine]

I've heard of frozen assets before, but wow!!! Why don't you just throw them out? I'm sure freezing them is going to whack out the magnetic strips....

Originally Posted by simpleselu

I am living without credit cards now; they are all frozen in water in a tupperware in the freezer.

[Bookie]

Originally Posted by funnyvalentine

I've heard of frozen assets before, but wow!!! Why don't you just throw them out? I'm sure freezing them is going to whack out the magnetic strips....

Nope. Someone asked that on one of the MSN Money forums, and the credit card expert said the magnetic strip wouldn't be damaged. I just hope the cards were signed in waterproof ink.

[flinnie]

I have always wonted to put my spending on ice.Maybe now would be a good time.

Flinnie

[rob62521]

I use our credit card for different bills and then pay it off at the end of the month. Our bank charges for checks so this eliminates a lot of check writing. My DH refuses to change banks so I'm stuck on this point. I'm not to the point I want to pay stuff on-line yet.

I'm curious, how many of you use ATMs? We do not. I think it's more of a personal preference -- prefer talking to people instead of going to a machine.

[Bookie]

Originally Posted by rob62521

I use our credit card for different bills and then pay it off at the end of the month. Our bank charges for checks so this eliminates a lot of check writing. My DH refuses to change banks so I'm stuck on this point. I'm not to the point I want to pay stuff on-line yet.

I did go the on-line payment route, and I can attest to the potential saving in both check costs and postage. My one reservation has to do with automatic payments. I'm more comfortable doing them manually on-line, and I enjoy the convenience of being able to monitor my account balances.

Originally Posted by rob62521

I'm curious, how many of you use ATMs? We do not. I think it's more of a personal preference -- prefer talking to people instead of going to a machine.

Never had an ATM card. The whole ATM culture evokes my inner Luddite. I've seen people get completely out of control with that money-on-demand thing. I get my weekly cash from the bank on Monday, and it simply has to see me through the weekend or I do without.

[Ima saver]

I agree, Bookie. I have never had an ATM card either. Of course, I use the old fashioned envelope system, but I too, give my self an allowance on Monday and that usually sees me thru. I have a misc. envelope that I put $20 a week in. It usually has $100 or more and I can use that if I run short.

[med12]

We lived for about 5 years without any credit cards while paying down balances. We just recently decided to get credit cards again more to build our credit history back up again. It was a bad idea as our income got cut right after that and now we are trying to play catch up again.

But, you can use a debit card for most anything these days. No, the protection isn't the same as on a credit card and car rental companies will typically "hold" the funds like someone else said sometimes up to a week. That could be a problem but I like the idea of having a second account just for stuff like that.

[Ima saver]

I just don't like debit cards. They are too easy to use. I don't keep any extra money in my checking account because it doesn 't pay interest. I would rather pay off my credit card once a month.

[Great to be Debt Free]

Can you; yes! I do now.

In my twenties, I got into about $30,000 of credit card debt. I hated dealing with creditors and everything. It took me 2 1/2 years of REALLY spending nothing in order to pay them all off. I was determined not to bring debt into a marriage.

Once everything was paid off, I have been an excellent steward with credit cards BUT now we don't use them at all. When we saw how much more we spent on groceries when we swiped rather than using cash; when we saw how many times we bought multiples that were a "good deal" even though we really didn't need them... well, when spending cash, you spend less. This means we can save and invest more. By switching to a cash (and debit for online purchases, etc), we have been able to save 30% more per month than we did while we were using credit and paying ot off every month.

As for home loans, even without established credit, you can get a good rate. They just can't focus on a FICO score, you'll need an underwriter. They'll have to investigate a little more if they can't cheat off of Experian, Equifax and Transunion, but You'll be fine! Really!