Living A Cash Life - How's It Working for You?

[bakergrl]

We don't live on cash per say because we use our debit card/checks to pay for things but all the money paying for it is our own which is nice.

We have our mortgage, 2nd mortgage, and 2 car payments for secured debt still that are hopefully reporting our payments to the credit bureaus to get our credit back on track.

It is so nice to actually pay our bills ahead of time for once.

[SeattleBK]

Amazingly well.

I initially thought it would be a big hassle, and that I would really miss my credit cards, but I love the cash life, and knowing that I'm not paying even 1 cent in interest.

I do have a Visa Check Card which makes everything easy and I use the account to buy gas and shop online when I need to. I absolutely hate going into the, stop and shop at the gas station to pay for gas, so it's nice to be able to pay at the pump.

I have two checking accounts altogether, and only one of them is connected to my Visa Check Card for security reasons.

[feelingnutsy]

Hey---SeattleBK---is the Visa Check Card like a debit card---or is it prepaid?

[bkinparadise]

I used to work at a large department store and at the end of the shift the sale deposit would be a couple thousand dollars all of which only $300 was in cash, the rest was credit. I don't ever want to be a slave to the credit card companies again. Cash is king!

[SeattleBK]

Hey---SeattleBK---is the Visa Check Card like a debit card---or is it prepaid?

It's a debit card but you can use like a debit or credit card, but the funds must be secured by funds in a checking account.


When I use it as a credit card online, I use a 16 digit credit card number and not my checking account number.

At the gas pump, I can hit the credit bottom, and swipe it like a credit card without putting in a debit card security code.

When I use it like a debit card, funds are deducted immediately. When I use it like a credit card, funds sometimes aren't deducted for 2-3 days.

I prefer using it as a debit if I can because I like having money deducted immediately, but when buying online or paying bills online I use it like a credit card.

If you have a checking account at a credit union, you can get a Visa Check Card or a Master Card Check Card from your credit Union. Some credit unions have the Visa logo and Some have the Master Card logo on them.

[ryan]

For nine months now I have not used any credit cards (since they are all cancelled anyway)....I use just cash or Debit Cards. Debit cards are great, btw. It FEELS almost like using credit card, but there is no bill at the end of the month!

[andy158]

The company my wife works for issues her a corporate cc for travel and other expenses on the road. She has to turn in itemized expense reports every two weeks and she has learned alot from doing this. She finds it hard to believe how much she charges on little things and forgets about them until she reconciles her reports. That was one of the things that got us into trouble with cc's before. Charging little things all month and getting a surprise at the end of the month! Like others here our debit card has replaced our cc's, works just as good and is accepted everywhere. In fact it has a "Visa" logo on it!

[freefall]

Not only do my wife and I each have a Capital One card post-Chpt 7, but we make sure we use them regularly. We aren't in any debt. We pay them off twice a month, but you can't get by in this world very easily without a credit card. Having a credit card doesn't mean being in debt, it means living in a modern world. No one says you have to be in debt to a credit card, but to live without one is kind of being financially Amish. You could, for instance, live without a telephone, too. The greatest math in the world was done pre-computer, pre-calculator, but it would be kind of strange to leave those things behind today. Same with a credit card.

[bkinparadise]

Not only do my wife and I each have a Capital One card post-Chpt 7, but we make sure we use them regularly. We aren't in any debt. We pay them off twice a month, but you can't get by in this world very easily without a credit card. Having a credit card doesn't mean being in debt, it means living in a modern world. No one says you have to be in debt to a credit card, but to live without one is kind of being financially Amish. You could, for instance, live without a telephone, too. The greatest math in the world was done pre-computer, pre-calculator, but it would be kind of strange to leave those things behind today. Same with a credit card.

To each their own. I've done well without a credit card since retaining a BK attorney. I have yet come across a situation that I needed to use a credit card. I don't travel and I don't buy off the Internet. If I do need a card I'll get a secured card or debit card when all is done with my BK. But I know for sure for me having a real CC in my pocket is asking for trouble. It is too much of a temptation and I don't ever want to go down that road ever again. So in my opinion if plastic is ever needed for a transaction I'll stick with a debit card or secured CC. Any way I know I won't qualify for a real CC for some a while with a BK on my credit report and that is a blessing in disguise.

[momofthree]

Not only do my wife and I each have a Capital One card post-Chpt 7, but we make sure we use them regularly. We aren't in any debt. We pay them off twice a month, but you can't get by in this world very easily without a credit card. Having a credit card doesn't mean being in debt, it means living in a modern world. No one says you have to be in debt to a credit card, but to live without one is kind of being financially Amish. You could, for instance, live without a telephone, too. The greatest math in the world was done pre-computer, pre-calculator, but it would be kind of strange to leave those things behind today. Same with a credit card.

There are people in this world--myself and husband included--who don't have the self-control to only charge what we know we can pay off. This is a lesson we've tried repeatedly to learn over the years, and have finally acknowledged it. For US and those like us, living WITH a credit card is financially STUPID. We'd rather be debt-free, and if that means we're Amish, then we're embracing our Amish-ness!

We lived for 3 years without a single credit card. 100% cash, using our debit card for online purchases and hotel reservations and such. We were happy as clams.

We made the mistake of opening an emergency credit card and 18 months later had over $30k in debt that we couldn't afford to pay and now we're in bankruptcy. We've learned our lesson for the last time. NEVER again. Cash is king.

[coolmom04]

My husband and I have always had serious financial issues. Twice before BK he racked up 25K alone. The first time his mom paid off. The second time she loaned him the money to pay it off. We finished paying that loan off about a month before filing BK. I filed BK alone back in 2002.. but that was stupid on my part b/c I think I only owed about 20K, but I was a single unemployed mom living with my parents at the time.

Anyway -

We will absolutely NEVER own another CC. We have been living a cash only/debit card only lifestyle since December. It is an amazing feeling to finally live on a monthly budget rather than paycheck to paycheck budget.. and also having enough money in the account at the beginning of the month to pay the whole months' bills!!

Living this lifestyle for me has made me seriously dig deep into my soul and realize how selfish I've been over the years with my need for instant gratification.

I am so thankful we are not living like that anymore.

Oh... we had a situation a week ago where our car was in the shop and had to rent a car. Their website specifically said "no debit cards" but I told my husband to try anyway b/c I knew other people on this forum had used their debit cards to rent cars. Sure enough - they took it without absolutely no problem!

[Never_Again]

Next month it will be two years since we filed. I did not use a credit card for about 8 months prior to that, so I have been more than two and a half years since I have used a credit card, or any other debt. I have been fine.

Yes, there have been a couple of inconveniences. I was traveling on business, and my car rental was messed up through the counter (my companies card was not entered to pay for it). Yes, I had a bit of panic, being at JFK airport without transportation, but after taking a deep breath, I worked out my transportation, and was fine.

That is one of the problems with credit. It seems to supress the ability to find another solution, and one is usually out there if you look carefully.

To everyone who says simply charge and pay each month... I did that for about three years with a Discover card. Charged and paid each month. I earned over $1000 per year in cash back. But eventually, it is too easy to let it slide for a month, not paying it off completely. Then two, and three, and pretty soon the balance is growing. I'm sorry, but to me, it is just not worth it.

An emergency fund of six months of expenses can handle just about any emergency that comes up. No, that doesn't happen overnight, but generally, anything worth having doesn't either.

[bluemartini]

I know that we can't live completely off the radar, but has anyone found a "happy place" after BK...where they are living as debt free as possible, and using financial institutions as little as possible, or perhaps, not at all??

I am getting ready to file BK, but I'm finding it quite easy to live without credit cards. I defaulted on them almost two years ago. I pay cash for everything (using debit card associated with my checking account) and it is easy peasy.

I sometimes miss being able to buy something I can't afford, by rationalizing that "I'll pay it off in a month or two" (I never did, lol).... but I definitely don't miss that guilty feeling of knowing I shouldn't have gotten it.

[flower04]

NeverAgain-WOW! How did you get your net work up to $142? Please share your secret!!

[mrskal]

I have not used a credit card in approximately 18 months. I have not filed for BK yet. The thing that got me into a lot of trouble, was using the debit card like a credit card, buy what I want, it is paid automatically, and then there is not enough money in the checking account to pay the mortgage, utilities, CC, car payments. Something to keep in mind! I really watch what I spend now and when I am done with this BK, all that money I save every month will start an emergency fund and I have just made a realistic budget for all monthly expenses.