Believe it or not, the average family has around $15,000 in credit card debt. Countless Americans live and die owing money to the bank because they either chose to spend recklessly or couldn’t afford to pay for an unexpected expense. Yet banks continue to offer their customers the ability to spend more money than they have, and that’s not a good thing.
Living without a credit card may seem like a distant dream for many, especially with student loans and the current cost of medical expenses. However, if you organize your finances, curb your consumerist tendencies and learn to live within your means as opposed to beyond them, you can live without this money drain. Your mental wellbeing will improve and your bank account will thank you for it.
Don’t Believe The Myths
If you bring up the idea of living without a credit card to someone, chances are they’ll come up with one of the following reasons as to why it isn’t viable: You need it to rent a car or hotel room. This is completely untrue and almost every agency and hotel offer a debit card option. You need it in case of an emergency. Logically, all you need is an emergency fund. Simply open a savings account, make deposits as often as possible, and let the interest grow until you need it.
Although using one will obviously improve it, you don’t need a credit card to increase your credit score either. As a matter of fact, you don’t need a credit score at all these days. All it really says about you is that you love debt anyway.
Learn To Budget
This is a basic and essential skill that everyone should learn from the day they start earning an income. But, of course, people who have credit cards don’t bother budgeting because they can just go into debt instead! It doesn’t have to be this way. Organize your finances, watch where your money goes, pursue frugality, and avoid unnecessary spending.
You’ll end up with a lot more money in the end, as well as the comforting knowledge that you know exactly where your money goes. As long as you know that, you won’t need a credit card as you’re only spending what you actually have.
Use Cash More Often
Once you’ve budgeted and figured out how you need to pay for everything, you can start making cash withdrawals more often and start using that cash towards purchases. Whether it be at the store for groceries or vehicle repairs, everyone still accepts cash these days and it’s the best way of ensuring that you only spend what you have.
It is easy to type a few numbers in while mindlessly shopping online, but letting go of the physical representation of your wealth is a lot harder, and that’s a good thing.
Conclusion
So yes, living without a credit card is totally viable and will result in you being wealthier and more financially stable than ever. You’ll learn a lot along the way and develop good financial habits now that you aren’t spending what you aren’t earning.
