Consumer Reports staffer Greg Daugherty has gone 30 years without a credit card. Why? He doesn’t need one.
I recently reached what I bet is a rare milestone: I have now gone 30 years, basically my entire working life so far, without a credit card.
This may make me seem like some kind of nut, or at least an anachronism. You know, the type of person who still isn’t convinced that indoor plumbing is worth the investment.
I do have what’s sometimes called a “travel and entertainment” (as opposed to credit) card, in my case American Express. I’m not here to plug Amex, but I believe a card like that, which has to be paid off in full each month, imposes a certain restraint that could keep many of us out of financial trouble.
30 years without a credit card [Consumer Reports]
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Fifteen years ago, I got rid of my POS credit card (and I don’t mean Point Of Sale) and never tried to get one since then.
Except for being unable to buy things instantly online, I haven’t had a reason to need one. Money orders wre good enough for the rest.
@humphrmi: Thank you spelling/grammar nazi, we all needed the education, and I for one could not have gone another day w/out that info.
My husband and I have had no credit cards for 12 yrs. now. We own our own cars and the only payments we make on a loan are the mortgage. We have a separate acct. for emergency funds which has a debit card for it. We only use cash debit cards for purchases. For the most part, the only bills we have are the usual month to month living expenses. Yippee!!! Feels great not to have crap for debt.
If he owns a house or car, he’s got credit somewhere. Granted, it may not be in the form of a shoe buying pool pass, but its credit all the same. The fact that his mortgage is on paper and not a card does not exempt him from saying he doesn’t have a credit card.
It would be better to say, “I haven’t had a credit card debt in 30 years.” or, I’ve maintained a zero balance for thirty years.
My sister-in-law does this. When she went to buy her new car, she had no credit history so they wouldn’t approve her loan. She came to us to co-sign and when we refused, you can only imagine the strain that put on the relationship.
You need to build a credit history and credit cards are the best way to start.
@SkyeBlue:
I don’t have a checking account, I pay all my bills by cash or money order. I have 3 bills I pay by money order every month, plus the 3 stamps to send them off. I pay one charge account when I have a balance on it right at the store for no fee. I pay my electric bill with no fee at a local store where it is done electronically. I also pay my satellite and phone bill electronically for $1.50 each which is a bit more than I would pay to buy the stamps and money orders at Walmart for .46 cents. I don’t mind paying a bit extra to pay my bills way since I know the payment will be credited that day or the next and I don’t have to worry about it being late or lost in the mail.
Hey, genius, what’s your time worth? I have a no-fee checking account, and any bills I can’t put on my credit card (which, as I said above, I pay off every month), I pay online through my checking account…for no fee. And I get a printed confirmation that I’ve paid. Instantly. It takes me about 20 seconds to click through to pay my gas company bill, and it doesn’t cost me a dime. And I usually do it while I’m holding on the phone with somebody. You GO to the store? You get in your car, presumably, and using gas and taking, what, a half hour out of your day, you pay your bill? Really bright.
What’s with this near religious fervor for not having a credit card, anyway? As people above have mentioned, they offer you purchase protection, mileage, and convenience, and if you’re not a dimwit, you realize that there’s going to be a monthly bill at the end of every transaction. Sure, you can buy that plasma screen – just hope you don’t mind eating catfood at 80.
@Amy Alkon: Hey, White Girl, let me explain this “Near Religious fervor for not having a credit card”:
“Purchase Protection”: I’m 38 years old, and have never once, ONCE, in my life, made a purchase that somehow turned out to be bad, and the entity from which I purchased it would not let me return it for whatever reason. I simply have never had to do this sort of thing. Maybe I’m lucky; or, maybe, I just think about what I’m buying, consider the source, and don’t make risky purchases.
“Mileage”? OH Puh-LEASE! In my younger “Embrace the United Mileage Plus” days, I accumulated FORTY THOUSAND MILES. what did this get me? …A carpet cleaner. THAT after the heinous rigamorole I had to go through to GET the darn thing! …Less trouble just to save my pennies and buy it straight-out.
“Convenience”: Debit card. Heard of ‘em? “OH! THEY ARE DANGEROUS! They don’t have the PROTECTION of a credit card, bla bla bla… Flat Out Wrong. My source? my BANK, with whom I sat down and ASKED about their methods for protecting my checking account against fraudulent use. Time and time again, the “Magic $50″ is quoted as “if you get ripped off through identity theft from your credit card, the most your liable for is $50.” My bank has stated that I am liable for NO fraudulent charges against my debit card. How is that better?
“Your name-calling attitude”: Bite me.
p.s. I realize this is from March of ’08 and nobody will read it. don’t care.
I’m an Amex-only gal, myself. For zillions of years.
i’ve gone my entire working life (12 years) without paying interest or carrying a balance. I still use a credit card (chase freedom) for all purchases though. Cash back is an awesome thing
Does he have a bank debit card? Does it have a Mastercard or Visa logo? Would that technically be considered a credit card?
You can set up a credit card to automatically take out money from your checking to pay for what’s been charged.
Good job! I’ve gone 26 years so far without one as well. I use a Debit (check) card for purchases if needed. We don’t need to live in debit our grandparents and great grandparents often had only a mortage.
@SkyeBlue: I think you are right, whatever works for you is best!
(to others)
The person I know didn’t use cc’s for 35 years of bill-paying. Of course I think they still use money orders for most of the bills (99.999999999999999%).
And I think you can have credit from other things, like mortgages and car loans (which people had before cc’s were widespread). Also I think having a phone line actually gives you some credit. If not the service, I seem to remember the phone could be leased from the phone company, too.
@Amy Alkon: Wow, that’s inordinately mean. There are other ways to get credit and there’s something to be said for an established payment habit that’s easy to remember which this person has.
I almost think you just felt like you needed to insult someone.
Credit is slavery.
The fact that his mortgage is on paper and not a card does not exempt him from saying he doesn’t have a credit card.
@Binaryslyder: But a mortgage isn’t a credit card. It’s a loan. It’s not like he can use his mortgage to buy groceries.
@Amy Alkon: I agree with girly. It was unnecessary to be insulting.
Credit Cards are for assholes.
No cash. No buy. Period.
you can save a lot of money buying items on the internet rather than paying cash. no sales tax on out of state sales, free shipping etc.