What are the advantages/disadvantages of not owning a credit card?

Re: What are the advantages/disadvantages of not owning a credit card?

Hi to all,
thank you for all,a lot of information posted about credit.many thanks.

[Budgeteer]

Re: What are the advantages/disadvantages of not owning a credit card?

The most important thing about a credit card is that it is NOT a vehicle to allow extra spending. A credit card is a tool that should be used:

- to pay for things that you have the cash for,
- to temporarily cover an emergency situation (again, you should have the money),
- to protect yourself (ie, instead of using a bank card
- to reap rewards (points, cash back, etc)
- to take advantage of insurance, etc
- to secure rentals, etc

If you never make the mistake of allowing your credit card to become a loan, you'll never have a problem with it.

[PRICEPLUS]

Re: What are the advantages/disadvantages of not owning a credit card?

Well I guess you have ot have one in todays world or you'll have a few issues with car rental and hotel rooms. The bottom line is while they are bad they are a necessity at times it seems. I guess hte answer is to use it only when you have no choice!

[vishenda]

Re: What are the advantages/disadvantages of not owning a credit card?

Advantages; No bills, no debts, YOU own what you have, no temptation to buy more then you can afford. If you can't afford it now what makes you think you can when the bill comes in.

Disadvantages: You have to save up to get what you want, takes time and patience.

[disneysteve]

Re: What are the advantages/disadvantages of not owning a credit card?

Advantages; No bills, no debts, YOU own what you have, no temptation to buy more then you can afford. If you can't afford it now what makes you think you can when the bill comes in.

Disadvantages: You have to save up to get what you want, takes time and patience.

I respectfully disagree. Just having a credit card doesn't automatically mean you are in debt, buying things you don't need and can't afford.

We save up for what we want and then buy it, using the credit card to pay for it and earn reward points, plus float the payment for an additional month, increasing interest earned on our money.

I think the disadvantage, if you want to call it that, to having a credit card is you need to have self-control and responsibility, and the reality is that not everyone does.

[threebeansalad]

Re: What are the advantages/disadvantages of not owning a credit card?

I agree with Steve. I've had a credit and since I was 20 y/o-- and there has only been 1 month I did not pay it off in full.

When I worked FT, I travelled for work a lot. I was expected to pay for things on my credit card and get re-imbursed afterward. Eyebrows would have been raised if I had said I didn't have a credit card or was unwilling to use it.

My friend's significant other doesn't have a credit card. To be honest, it makes me suspicious-- and wonder if he's filed for bankruptcy in the past but hasn't told her. I'm not saying there aren't perfectly good reasons not to have a credit card, but I **am** saying it may cause people to draw conclusions about you.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Re: What are the advantages/disadvantages of not owning a credit card?

I'm in the boat of liking CC, had one since 13 and never any problems. It's how my mom taught me about money. And I left home by 16 and didn't have problems...so something must have stuck.