Have You Sworn Off Credit Cards?

[dgtxpride]

I use a credit card to build up my credit, but I never spend more than I have so that I never end up in debt.

[andy158]

Yes we have sworn off credit cards! We use debit cards and can only spend what is in the account at that given time. Have used it everywhere and not been refused anywhere. Maybe because it has a "Visa" logo on it with a 16 digit number and "Debit" is in small print in the corner. We will not be at the mercy of big banks ever again that can toy with your interest rate, monthly payments and credit limits at there will just "because". This is part of what got us here in the first place. At one point we were juggling 9 credit cards. How foolish!

[LadybugsRUs]

I now have one card. The interest rate is decent. It came from my credit union. The limit is relatively small and I am fine with it. The trouble came before when I felt that because I had a high score, the more credit the merrier! I felt validated by having multiple accounts with high limits. I became obsessed with checking my credit score daily. It was crazy. Now, I am happy to have just the one. I have a couple store cards that have zero balances from before the bankruptcy and I charge small amounts that I pay off. Life is good. I'm in control.

[AdamGarcia]

After bankruptcy it can be useful to use credit cards for day-to-day purchases to rebuild credit. Only carry a balance that you can pay off every month.

[sbatman]

I have four sons and if there is wedding, grandbaby or emergency with any of them, I need to be able to fly to get to them as they live in four different states (Pacific coast to Atlantic coast) and driving is out of the question. I have to be able to buy an airline ticket at fully price if immediate. As a woman who can't stay in cheap dives (handicapped and quite vulnerable), and needing a car rental or multiple taxi rides for wherever I'm staying. I might also have to buy the mother of the groom wedding/dinner dresses, shoes, handbags, etc (you women out there understand) I don't like to carry a lot of cash around. So, I NEED a credit cards. I've had a very bad and potentially very costly problem with a debit card and refuse to use them.

So, I have $3000 in available credit, which would pay for any/all of the above. In any case, I can pay them off completely within two months. But, I've not paid a cent of interest and pay off my credit cards in full every month, since my first card, a CapOne card I received a month after my Chapter 7 discharge, two years ago.

[beaconterra1]

I like cash.