Credit Cards and Living Without Them

I have long since been against the use of credit cards in my life. I've never owned one, and don't plan to. What exactly is the use for them? I know some offer all kinds of rewards or cash-back, but you're still left with a bill to pay, most of the time you pay more to the credit card company than you actually paid for the item. So that brings me to say (as I have been before I have even been into personal finance as much as I am now), if you can't pay for it now, then obviously I can't afford to buy it.

This standard is exactly why I have no credit debt. Outside of a home, I believe nothing should ever be bought on credit. I do believe as well, in very certain circumstances, that a car note may be acceptable to have. Some people have no other option than to carry a note on a vehicle. Those being the ones that have decent enough credit, but no cash. They may wind up being swindled in a sense to a higher car payment, but they have what they need to get where they need to get. In a small town like mine, where there is no public transportation, a vehicle is almost a necessity.

I'm sure people believe that credit cards are necessary for emergencies, I just don't see where though. If you have your credit card, and your credit card is in your wallet, then where is your cash or bank card? What about next month, when the statement comes in, are you going to have the money to pay for your emergency? If you can pay off the balance every month, by all means, go for it and help your credit score, they are just not for me.

Now I'm not badgering the use of credit cards or the people that use them, I've just personally never seen the point in them. I've noticed a lot of people, including fellow personal finance bloggers, have accumulated tons of credit card debt. Will at mydebtcomeback has accumulated a whopping 647,000 dollars worth of debt. Tricia at bloggingawaydebt.com has shown to the public how far they've come from their 37,000 dollars worth of credit debt. While these numbers are outrageous, I envy these bloggers for paying down their debt, and trying to get rid of credit cards altogether out of their lives. These two blogs, however, aren't even a fraction of the personal finance blogs out there that speak about how the blogger themselves are in debt to credit cards. All of them are working towards a goal, and they are all using a different system for obtaining that goal. From Dave Ramsey's “Snowball” approach (more on that approach here), to an all out “throw everything towards debt” approach, they are paying it down, and each of them is going to be proud to say that they too are debt-free.

Can you live without credit-cards? Please feel free to enlighten me on the benefits of a credit card, besides helping your credit score.