my first car was the chevy metro, formally geo. and i would still have it today had i not moved to manhattan and had no use for a car. i loved that car!!

That picture made me think... I have never in my life made a purchase of goods or services from an actual business, where credit cards were not accepted.

I sure wouldn't be paying that diner anything if I was informed after the fact.

Unfortunately it's going to be harder to be frugal this time around. Think of something like a vacuum cleaner. How old was your grandmother's? Mine had a 1960s Kirby that works to this day.

How old is your vacuum cleaner? How old was your last one before it shit the bed? Even when you want to keep things around they're not designed to be fixed anymore.

My first car was a bike. And I rode it everywhere in New Orleans.

And I've been to a few places in Austin that don't accept credit cards. Although I hope they would accept debit cards.

@friendlynerd: Funny enough, I use my parent's Electrolux that they recieved as a wedding gift 30 some years ago....they replaced it with several yard-sale Electrolux's that my mom picked up...

@friendlynerd: Cheap != frugal.

[consumerist.com]

@Quatre707: We have a lot of independent taco stands inside gas stations and small pop and pop sit down restaurants down here in Dallas that are cash only. It is the best food that credit can't buy. Screw fast food and chain restaurants. Why? Because cash is king baby! I can't stand people that don't carry at least $20-$40 around for those awkward situations when they find themselves in places that don't accept credit cards. And yes there are still many places that won't take them.

The only thing that will make us stop using credit cards is if banks stop issuing them.

"Is credit card consumerism over?"

I would give that a big, fat NO.

As in customers being told, "No, you don't have any more credit. No, we won't raise your limit. No, your house is no longer an ATM. No, nobody will buy it because you owe more than it is worth. No, you can't have that."

If there was more credit, they'd spend it. We are bling-loving debtor nation, believe it.

@Quatre707: "I have never in my life made a purchase of goods or services from an actual business, where credit cards were not accepted."

I have, CiCi's Pizza is cash only here in northwest Georgia. They have a small ATM, but accepts cash only.

Funny how many people, like my family, use debit cards and not carry cash. There are a lot of people just turn around and walk out like we did.

@friendlynerd: Methinks you and I have the same grandmother :)

But really, I know exactly what you mean. That thing sounded like a jet taking off; we'd find the cat hiding in the attic hours after the fact.

Are We Nearing The End Of Credit Card Consumerism?

Nope, we're nearing the end of an era where US citizens had disposable incomes.

The first car I bought with my own money was a geo Metro. And I drove that sucker for NINE long years. We moved to Arizona and the A/C just couldn't keep up with the heat so I sold it to a wise young high school junior for $1000.

It was ugly it was slow, and the handles for the windows eventually came off but in nine years, that car never once left me stranded on the side of the road. I bought new brakes and new tires and had the oil changed regularly and it was one of the best decisions I ever made. My friends teased me about buying a rolling hamster but I am glad I had the sense to buy only what I could afford. I still try to live by that philosophy even now that I can afford something fancier.

I love you, Blue Geo Metro, wherever you are!

i love the 10 cent discount cash gets me on gas :)

@kaptainkk: cash is awkward...that means receipts, change, forgetting $5 in your pocket and finding it a year later (ok that last one is nice). I like using credit, it lets me see where my money goes and gives me some bonuses like airline miles. I never carry cash, unless I'm on vacation.

Behavior needs to change before people will stop borrowing. I remember when it was uncommon to have credit cards, and processing card payments was unruly and inconvenient (take the card, match card to ID, swipe card, take imprint of card, call CC company to verify the card, receipts in triplicate [customer/store/credit company]), back when American Express was a charge card that required you to pay off the balance monthly.

Credit will die when it's not easy to get or not profitable to provide.

FIA Card Services just raised my credit limit, without my asking (they've done so periodically over the last few years, even though I never carry a balance)... I still think that those who are good credit risks (and, by definition, not in debt up to their eyeballs) can still get credit.

I've noticed that even though my wife and I are making more money that we have before we never have a lot of 'extra' money. We put some into savings, some into 401k but the rest is used paying for the house, insurance, food, and other monthly expenses. $50 fill ups are not helping; and expensive food doesn't help either. We have been spending a lot on our kitchen remodel, but once that's done we're going to stop spending money on unnecessary junk. I've considered going to a cash based system for our bills. Get a pile of cash and when it's gone no more spending.

China does want us to be without credit. No credit, no demand. No demand. No manufacturing. No manufacturing no growth.

I dont understand all the hate on credit. Its been around in one way or another since ancient ships sailed the Euphrates. For a site calling itself the consumerist it is surprising the amount of gleeful ignorance around this place.

end of "cc consumerism"? nah. andrew kahr will find a way to get us all racking up our balances again soon enough.

@GMFish: Americans have had disposable cash, but not disposabile income. If this was all about income, we'd all still be spending like sailors. The problem is that most Americans have been spending beyond their means (i.e. beyond their income) for years, and using cheap and easy credit to do so.

@GMFish: You, sir, win 500 points.
@cubejockey: Tell the fat-cats who own the banks and big corporations that.

"Despite what "FreeCreditReport.com" would have you believe, some people do choose to drive them. And they also get their credit reports from www.annualcreditreport.com."

Great line. I'm sure the rising gas prices have something to do with people curtailing their spending.

@friendlynerd:

You can still buy a Kirby vacuum cleaner, but it'll probably run you about $1500. You'll definitely only need one though.

My mom's Kirby (circa 1975) still works like a charm, but it's like hauling an anvil around if you have to change floors.

@kaptainkk: See, that's why not carrying cash has helped me! Most of my favorite, greasy lunch places are cash only. Having only my debit card and too much pride to charge $4 at McDonald's keeps me from eating junk and instead going home and making a sandwich or salad for lunch.

@Pennsylvanian123:
My comment was more about the quality of goods in general, so maybe the Kirby was a bad example. The new ones are definitely still built to last. Hoovers? not so much.

@harlock_JDS:

i love the 10 cent discount cash gets me on gas :)

I love the 5% discount my AMEX Blue gets me on gas, groceries, and pharmacy :)

17.5 cents per gallon (assuming $3.50 per gallon gas)

@michaelangelo1969:

I dont understand all the hate on credit. Its been around in one way or another since ancient ships sailed the Euphrates. For a site calling itself the consumerist it is surprising the amount of gleeful ignorance around this place.

@harlock_JDS:

I prefer the 40 cents I get back from Amex Blue Cash on gas purchases.

I drove a Geo Metro from Jacksonville, FL to Dallas, TX (like 1200 miles) non-stop in like 1996 or 1997. Took me about 16 hours each way. Cost less than $60 round trip for gas as I recall. at $7/fill up, I was getting 60+ miles to the gallon.

It's kind of strange because looking at Box office sales this year they're the highest I've seen them for a long time, and iPhone sales are big and lots of things keep selling.

Of course, if you're broke and have no access to credit you don't have much choice but to be frugal

what "FreeCreditReport.com" would have you believe, some people do choose to drive them. And they also get their credit reports from www.annualcreditreport.com.

@Quatre707: Most of those places have a sign out front. A pizza place I love is cash only.

@Pennsylvanian123: Yeah, I'd probably never buy one because they're huge. They're designed for vacuuming big classrooms and such. I can't imagine trying to maneuver one of those giant chrome monstrosities around ordinary living room furniture.

The best steak in NYC at Peter Luger's has always been cash-only, although that may be more for mob money laundering than anti-credit cards...

@InfiniTrent: But credit is fine as long as people don't overextend themselves. Credit is what built the modern world, by financing infrastructure projects and such. The problem a lot of people have is overspending, not credit. Credit just makes it easier to spend more than you have, but it in no way forces you to. You don't have to take a loan just because some idiot is offering you one.

I think the real issue with the real estate crisis is that so many people justified overspending on credit with the totally wrong idea that real estate prices would never go down. I can't tell you how many times I've heard people say that "real estate is the best investment", "houses don't go down in value because they're something tangible", and similar stupidity.

I think this article and the sources linked to / quoted are a bit disingenuous. I think a better explanation as to why Consumerism is slowing down is because household budgets are fixed or decreasing, while costs are increasing.

Something has to give, and the "un-necessities" are first to go. If it costs more to fill up and put food on the table, then maybe I don't need to augment the old DVD collection, etc.

@InThrees: Yes, I agree that this is the more likely explanation. You can't just finance your lifestyle on debt forever while living beyond your means; eventually the bill comes due. Fixed costs are going up, and real wages are stagnant or falling. The bill is now coming due both for households and for our government and nation as a whole. We're simply readjusting as a ton of wealth evaporates from our country and gets shifted to places we're importing a lot from (like the Middle East, in the form of oil).

Does anyone else find it humorous that the "No Credit Cards" sign is in a jacket provided to the diner by the credit card company?

I hope credit ends, its nothing more than legal stealing. I think it has done far more harm than good.

@Quatre707:
It's true that one can use credit or debit cards most places in the U.S.A. now, but I can't understand your comment that you wouldn't pay unless you were informed in advance that credit cards were not accepted. Cash is legal tender. Credit cards are essentially a way to facilitate a private law business transaction -- they are a convenience and not a right. I think it's good practice to ask a restaurant if credit cards are accepted before eating if you are not able to produce cash to pay. Then you avoid the need to explain how you have eaten and cannot bay because you have a credit card and no legal tender (cash).

If everyone in America didn't use their credit or debit cards for two months, most city/state budget problems would cease. Think about it this way, if you buy a $2 cup of coffee at your local coffee shop with a a credit card, that shop only makes .4 cents off of it, as opposed to .70 cents if you used cash. So in effect, the less that a business makes in profits, the less goes in taxes to your local community and thus things like education and transportation budgets are smaller. No one realizes the amount of money that goes to the credit card companies just for using their machines.

@GMFish: Nope, we're nearing the end of an era where US citizens had disposable incomes.

Yep - the real answer will lie in what happens after that disposable income goes back. If we go back to what we're just now getting away from, then no this wasn't the end of credit card consumerism.

Money != happiness. Will people ever wise up? I have little sympathy for people who have intentionally lived beyond their means and gotten into trouble. Of course, I'd also penalize predatory lenders and change some laws. The saddest part is that the next generation will have to shoulder the burdens of the financial mistakes of today's irresponsible citizens.

Cash is king though. You have to have it to spend it, and as a bonus it allows you to live in anonymity without every purchase going into your government and commercial dossiers. A future where cash isn't accepted is a much scarier proposition than one where credit isn't accepted. I'm not against credit, I'm just conservative about its use.

@RandomMutterings: It's just courtesy to the customer.

@MD4Prez2032: that's a .04 cent profit....

@MD4Prez2032: I don't think paying cash changes the sales tax a city collects. They collect of the sale transaction. The business would end up getting more. The city would still get the same amount.

broke and have no access to credit

Yep, that's me. No more bling for a while.