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Americans’ credit card debt levels have just notched a new, but undesirable, milestone: For the first time ever, they’ve surpassed $1 trillion, according to data released Tuesday by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
I have never had a credit card. I have no plans to get one. I have no idea what my credit rating is either. And until I have to know, I don’t care. I am not in any debt though.
You should probably still find out your credit score/rating though, especially since it’s free. Identity theft is a real issue, like someone opening a line of credit in your name and fucking up your rating when you actually need it for something (buying a car or house, or anything that requires a credit check).
Ok, that is a fair argument. I will look into it. Thank you.
Another case for getting a credit card is the rewards and protection. I always pay on time and never have to pay interest, so I only gain from cashback rewards and don’t lose anything by using a credit card. Banks are also very strict with fraud (it’s their money you spend before paying it off after all), and they will side with you if your card gets used to pay for something you did not authorize. Lastly, it’s becoming a hassle to pay cash nowadays with most establishments going cashless.
As long as you always pay it off on time, there aren’t much downsides to maintaining a credit card, regardless if you care about your credit score/rating or not.
You can also put a freeze on your credit via the big three credit agencies. That would prevent someone from opening ip a credit card or taking out a loan in your name.
You’re right, but it’s a shame the system is designed to punish people who don’t have an interest in participating at this time. Fraud should be the responsibility of the credit card companies not the users.
I was like you and got screwed by it. That’s the unfortunate part of the system for us. Credit rating isn’t rating of trustworthiness, it’s a rating of likely-to-take-debt/trustworthiness. Never having credit is often “worse” than bad credit. If you ever do try and take out a loan for a car or a house, you will have fewer and more expensive borrowing options.
The play for people like us is to open exactly 2 sources of credit, use one as autopay for static bills, and automatically pay it every month. Use the other for dynamic expenses, but monitor and pay it off in full whenever it reaches 30% utilization, or 25 days, whichever comes sooner.
One can get the benefits of credit without actually accruing debt. The way you use your cash/debit, you already don’t spend money you don’t have. Just continue to not spend money you don’t have, but get the benefits of the system. Be a “deadbeat” as they call us. Us deadbeats actively cost the system money by never carrying balances that accrue interest.
when you “have to know” is the worst time to find out that it’s not good.
Possibly, but it has not been a problem in my life so far, so either it’s good enough that no one cares when it’s come up or I’ll be in trouble one day, I guess.
yes that is indeed how you create future problems for yourself.
Ignoring it is a sure fire way to let someone else make it a problem for you.
Maybe, but it’s worked for 46 years now.
Same. Unless you’re buying a house or a new car I haven’t run into any issues.
Tricky part here is that an easy way of building credit is by use of a credit card. If you can’t buy a house in cash, then obtaining a good mortgage becomes difficult. I’d recommend the happy medium being one of those preloaded credit cards where you pay $1000 up front or what ever and just use that for day to days… being out of debt like you are, though, is one of the most liberating things one can ask for
I use my credit card for every purchase I make and get 1.5% cash back. I pay off my balance every month in full to avoid any interest. That 1.5% can add up pretty quickly and it’s basically free money.
If you lose your job though that free money dries up lightning fast
It’s free only if you have the ability to fully pay off your card every month, otherwise it is not free due to interest, yes.
And everything costs 5-10%% than it would without all the cash back and other rewards programs.
If you treat them like a debit card, there aren’t any of these issues. I have a credit card that I use for all everyday expenses. Every month it’s paid off so it never acrues interest. My credit score is great and the card offers some other benefits too.
If I lose my job the risk I have would only ever amount to one month of spending, which is easily covered by my emergency fund.
Thing is, by the time you have to know, you’ll need to have a history of good credit.
I have one credit card. It’s fully paid off every month automatically, because I spend less than I make.