you aren't the only one who refuses to use credit cards. I've met several people who share this principal, though I must admit, I don't understand why?!!

The only reason I can think of, is that a person can't control their own spending...and with a credit card, they will spend more than they can afford, thus being forced to pay interest...which they see as a huge rip-off, so in principal they refuse to use them !!

The problem with this approach is that they are missing out on the flexibility that credit cards offer. There really is no reason to pay interest on credit cards, unless you choose to do so by spending more than you can repay.

If a person is unable to control their spending, all they need to do is put a limit on the card. The limit should be approx equal to the amount of cash that they would spend in a normal month. Lets say $2,000.

That way, when you get to the end of the month, you can comfortably pay off your $2,00 on the card, from the cash in your account that you didn't spend....and you will not be charged any interest. Using a credit card allows you to spend money that belongs to someone else. In the meantime, you can be putting your own money to good use.

Seriously - I cannot understand why anyone would want to use, or even own, a debit card. Why spend your own money when you can spend the bank's and pay them back 55days later, interest free?!

I should also mention that if you pay at the till using the "credit" button that you cannot ask for extra cash out.

So, if you're at the till and would like to pay for your purchase AND want extra cash back then you would have to press either Cheque or Savings (depending on how your card is set up).

I tried to do that once pressing Credit, thinking that it would work since it's just directly coming out of my account. But it doesn't work, so just something to keep in mind.

I'm with you on that one. I use our credit card for almost everything. I actually find it easier to keep track of what I spend each month because it's all listed on the same bill. Then, each month the bill is paid IN FULL so I have never once paid interest to the credit card company. I found that if I was only using a debit card I would also draw out cash and spend which made it all harder to keep track of. If I ever want to see what my credit card balance is I can check it online so I don't have to wait until the end of the month.

In Canada we used our credit card for everything and by the time we left we had built up a $1000 credit on the card (benefit of using it) so we were able to go on a little spending spree.

In the year that we've been using our card in Australia we've built up about $300 in credit. So in reality they actually pay us about $25 a month to us it! Plus, you get the other perks like product protection, insurance, etc.

The other benefit is that it's easier to make large purchases. The first thing we put on ours was 4 round trip tickets to Canada ($$$) and because we used a credit card we had some protection in case the airline folded.

[QUOTE=asprilla;7288553]you aren't the only one who refuses to use credit cards. I've met several people who share this principal, though I must admit, I don't understand why?!!

Personal choice maybe?

The only reason I can think of, is that a person can't control their own spending...and with a credit card, they will spend more than they can afford, thus being forced to pay interest...which they see as a huge rip-off, so in principal they refuse to use them !!

Funny the only reason I think people spend on a credit card is because they can't afford to stick to a budget!

That's definitely not true in our case. I don't really need to "budget" in the traditional sense although I do keep track of all of our expenses. However I still set my own budget on how much we want to spend in each area and how much goes into savings. I have no problems keeping to it because we really don't splurge and I find our spending is pretty much as planned every month. So everything goes on the credit card and the bill is usually the same amount every month. No problems sticking to a budget here or paying off the card in full every month.

Just pointing out to the poster that not having a credit card doesn't mean you can't budget! actually missed out the at the end of the can't budget bit!.
Currently getting 5.25% interest on our e-saver account and using the credit card for all purchases as we got 6 months interest free.

Hi TMRE, yes I know it is personal choice? But why?! what's the reason behind the personal choice?

ps - yes you are right. You can still budget perfectly well without a credit card. But as your post shows - you can do it even better with a credit card, than without one.

I don't quite get the whole no credit card thing either.

My dad and I were talking the other day and he made a interesting insight to credit. He said it's better to have built up credit when you don't need it than to try and get it when you do need it. Pretty true really, if you were to lose your job or get sick and have trouble paying the bills it would be very difficult to get a large amount of credit under those circumstances.

It's far better to build up good credit and have credit cards or lines of credit available in case of emergency. Just because you have credit doesn't mean you have to abuse it. Although for those that can'd help but abuse it it's probably far better to avoid it altogether.

Thats the thing, I can at the moment budget, my brother on the other hand would forget to make payments, transfer the money, or think oh I have £200 in the savings account, spend it then remember the credit card bill has to be paid!. He won't get a card for that reason, knows his limit each month and doesn't have the temptation of that 'extra' money . Bit like speeding, some people stick to the limit, others go over!

yep wise words there.

If he's going to spend more than he can afford, and then forget to pay for it at the end of the month...probably best he doesn't have a credit card.

Hi,
I used to have an ANZ visa debit during my stay in AUS on work permit in 2006-07. Try ANZ and I am pretty sure that they will be happy to oblige.
Thanx
Husain

My decision not to have a credit card is because for the last 8 years I have been working in finance in the UK doing debt consolidation secured loans and my average customer earned £19.5K, owed £21K on credit cards, paid them off with a debt consolidation loan from us and then racked up the credit cards again!!!

The posters on here are lucky enough to be able to pay their full balance off every month, but did you know if you just pay the 3% or 5% minimum payment every month it would take 20-25 years to pay off your credit card!!

I just think they are an unnecessary temptation - you don't take out loans until you need them, so why take out a credit card if you don't need it?

In my job we were very well paid in the good times and most of my colleagues with credit cards used to pay off the full balance every month, then the credit crunch kicked in and our bonuses dried up and they stopped being able to clear their full balance every month.
Now we have all been made redundant and some of them have credit card debt - they will now be using their redundancy money to pay this off rather than using it as a safety net in case they don't get another job.

Yes, I think that's where a lot of people fall into the trap. If my husband where to lose his job we would change our spending dramatically and right away. We wouldn't just keep our regular routine hoping he would get a job soon. I've seen too many people go for months without finding work. There would be drastic cuts right away and in that situation we would probably limit the credit card use.

Its correct, mastercard debit cards are only available to Residents