cash... or charge?

I haven't had a credit card in eight years and my sister just got one recently for one store to help build her credit a bit. We charge very little on it and pay it off right away. For everything else we pay cash and often use our debit card for it. We don't have much money so if we added a lot of credit bills to our current ones we would be in trouble. You are right, it is very hard to spend money you don't have. One reason we don't have the cards but also why we don't have checks. We have a check card but no actual checks. My sister and I are both manic/depressive and when we are deep in either phase it is really easy to blow money we don't have. This way we can't. Once the money is gone it's gone so we try to spend it wisely.

I still use cash to pay for stuff. It is the best way to monitor your spending power. At least with cash you still have the power to monitor if you do have enough cash to spend. Unlike with credit cards, which is tempting at the same time you can't really monitor how much you do spend. Plus, you still have to consider that credit cards do have charges and whether or not they claim its lower than the other, it still is additional charge on your part. Maybe if you get to add all your accumulated charges you could bought something out of it if it was in cash. It really takes a lot of will power to stay away from the temptations of a credit card. I should know, I had been addicted with it. But with our economy now, one should stay wise and think of the future.

I run my finances with my debit card and twenty dollars in my wallet. I'm careful with what I spend and luckily_ I don't want to own a bunch of things. I keep two credit cards I use with discretion and caution. I only charge what I know I can pay off within a few months. It's always good to have at least one credit card for emergencies. If you have trouble controlling credit card spending, place all your credit cards in a freezer container, fill it with water and yes, freeze your credit cards. It stops implulse buying because you really have to think about what you're doing while you wait for those cards to thaw out.

Hubby and I had problems with our credit card bills too. Once he gets paid this next month, we're going to pay off all the credit card bills and cut it all off. It's just so streesful that you get different kinds of charges every month, even if you didn't use the card at all. So right now, we are spending by cash or debit card--to be safe. So we could have this discipline with our spending. Credit cards are just and will always be a temptation to buy something that you don't even need. And I agree with you, it's hard to spend money that you don't have. It's like you charge it now, and you'd be paying for a long months for that certain item. Oh well.

As much as possible, I pay it with cash so that I don't really have to use my credit cards. i only use credit card if I am really out of cash and needs to buy something. I always limit the use of my credit.

we are struggling to get out of credit card debt. once i get them paid off i am not using them anymore unless i have an extreme emergency. i will transfer balances to 0% interest rate until i can get them all paid off. last year we paid off some but we still have a long way to go. sometimes it really worries me but i cannot think about it all the time or i will not be able to function. hopefully the government will intervene but it is doubtful since the banks and the government are in each other's pockets.

i still use credit cards to pay for my bills and purchases... the only reason is because i get points from it and i can exhange it for vouchers, goods or cashback... and i got up to 55 days to pay off... so i got nothing to lose as long as i make sure that i pay off the balance every month and don't owe them money... my principle is, if i don't have the money, then i won't buy it... take care and have a nice day...

We normally use cash or debit. The only credit cards we use have no intrest. Like for instance we are remodeling our house so we use our home depot card often. They are always running specials if you spend over X amount you get no intrest for a year or six months. We use it and are sure to pay it off before the "no intrest" period is over. Once the card is paid off we start over. So in a way we are using credit and in a way we aren't. We have a lot to do in our house and this is the only way we can do it. I don't mind using credit cards as long as they are intrest free and I know we can pay it off in that time period. It works kind of like a lay a way for us. We have 3 cards that are intrest free right now. Home depot isn't always but we only use it when it is. Our Chase card is intrest free for a year and our Citi is intrest free for bill payments. We only use that for the Upromisse money you get.

You should check out badcredit offers programmes. It was conceived to help consumers with less-than-perfect credit rating You can still monitor your finances and maintain a modest living, while trying to recover financially

All my pay is direct deposit so I don't susualy have any cash on me. I use my debt card most often and for larger orders I will use my visa since I don't have to pay it all off right away.

you described the disadvantages of using credit card well. using credit card(s!), we tend to spend beyond our limit. i have visa but i have never used it . i prefer pay cash.

My husband and I have not used credit cards in about 6 years. The bank we have our construction loan through recommended we get one to build up our credit a little. We got one, used it and paid the balance every month. Now that we have been approved for the mortgage, the card has been paid off in full and cut up. We use cash or the bank/debit card only. Our goal now is to get my student loan, the car (one is paid for one still has a loan on it), and the business loan all paid off. It is a good thing my husband is stronger than me...I like to shop too much and would never have us out of debt as far as we are and I would never even attempt to do what he wants us to do now.

I use credit card seldomly. Not I have some problems with that, just i don't like going shoping but enjoy staying at home sleep or watch movies, therefore I have no chances to use it.

i use my cards but i am very organised and make sure i always have the money before i spend it! it does worry me alot about the price of living going up i dont no how we will be able to afford it if bills go up any more! i dont want to get into debt but the way things are going we mite do!