Free Yourself: 4 Life Options for Staying Debt-Free

[Retired To Win]

Say No to Credit Cards

Credit cards are financial quicksand and make it easy to get stuck in debt, very difficult to get out of once you’re in. The suggestion that you need a credit card to travel and get around is a total myth. Living off credit cards is like commuting through a minefield every day; you’re one misstep, accident, job loss, or illness away from them blowing up your finances and saddling yourself with years of debt. Using debit cards does require paying attention to some vendors that may put a temporary block on your account. To get around that and the fear of using a debit card number online, we set up a debit account separate from our serious money, and use it like a prepaid credit card. When we know we’re going to be traveling, we can add a couple thousand to the balance. So far we’ve never run into a problem...

I could not disagree more with this categorical rejection of credit cards. Credit cards are not the enemy; misusing credit cards is the problem.

To me, credit cards are a useful financial tool with a lot of benefits. For the full details on that, check out my blog post below.

A Double Fistful of Credit Cards:
http://retired-to-win.savingadvice.c...-cards_108006/

[Petunia 100]

I could not disagree more with this categorical rejection of credit cards. Credit cards are not the enemy; misusing credit cards is the problem.

To me, credit cards are a useful financial tool with a lot of benefits. For the full details on that, check out my blog post below.

A Double Fistful of Credit Cards:
http://retired-to-win.savingadvice.c...-cards_108006/

I agree, Retired to Win. Having a credit card is not synonymous with living off of credit cards.

[BuckyBadger]

I disagree with most of the post you cut and pasted here.

[corn18]

I feel dumber after reading that.

[Eagle]

Don’t Finance a House - Sorry but renting for 30+ years is a good idea then? Other than paying cash for a house (which is really tough to do) how does one go about NOT financing a house?

Don’t Have Kids - Right because the cost of kids outweighs the benefits… Seriously? Who writes this stuff…

Never Finance a New Car - So if I have 20k in the bank and get a no interest offer for 20k for 5 years I’m supposed to completely ignore that… ?

Say No to Credit Cards - I enjoy my credit card rewards. It’s how we do extra shopping and entertainment. Oh and we pay off the bill every month.

So…

Not all of these suggestions will be right for everyone; it’s up to you to determine the balance between financial security, mobility, and convenience that’s right for you.

Lol. I think I agree with both TomHole and BuckyBadger.

Wow…