But aren't you loosing a few hundereds of dollars worth of points every year? That's a free cash if you don't carry a balance.

I do not carry a balance, full payment of purchases every month. We received close to $400.00 this year from the CC company.

Here you go.. People are just jumping from one extreme to the other. And some journalists seems to be happy to fuel this panic, instead of educating the readers.

I am debt free and do not have a credit card. I do have a debit card and my life is so much easier.

You're a smart man.

I hate that when it happens.

Been there but, it was husband who ran up credit cards and let everything go at divorce time. It takes a long time to recover but, definitly agree cash or you don't need it. I think more men and women should learn this lesson.

I think you're probably right. everywhere I shop, the folks in front of me are answering "credit" to the debit or credit question. I use the debit card ocassionally, but prefer to keep cash for small purchases. easier to keep an eye on the checking acct balance that way. contrary to popular belief, you can rent a car on a debit card, too (at most places). just need to keep a healthy balance in the acct.

I have to agree that some people are probably not being up-front or not voting - I'll bet the actual number of people "up to their eyeballs in credit card debt" is much higher. I don't have a choice but to be cash and check card only because credit card companies don't like my self-employed status and won't give me a card. Frankly, I'm glad. Who needs them! If I don't have the cash then I can't afford it anyway!

I think what you are seeing is people without credit cards are responding and are glad to be debt free. The people do use them are not responding 'cause they don't want to think about it. That's what credit cards do. You don't see actual money leaving your hand so it is easier not to think about it. Scarlet O'Hara is famous for that. "I'll think about it tomorrow" (or the end of the month as the case is).

What would be the point of lying? Possibly living in denial? I have zero credit card debt and I charge everything! I get points in return for trips, gifts, etc. I use one card for all expenditures and pay it off each month. It requires self control. Don't buy it if you can't pay for it.

Eric -

Those people in line, like me, say "credit" instead of debit because my debit card is through Visa and if I pay as a credit card, I don't get dinged with a debit charge. It still comes out of my checking, but no charge. They're starting to catch on but for a long time this was the way around the debit charge.

You're forgetting this is a voluntary response. It is not a direct representation of the whole population. Of course people who don't carry a balance or who use cash only are going to say so. Like the rest I use my credit card all the time and get the cash back rewards. The balance is all paid off every month so I've never had to pay any interest on them. So far it's credit card companies - $0, me - over $1200 :)

Just to clear up one misconception--when people say "credit" instead of "debit" it is because of the fees charged to the banks when you use the card as a debit card. Our credit union asks us to say "credit" unless we are getting cash back. That saves all of us because the fees to them are reduced. So, even though I say "credit", the amount of purchase is still coming out of my bank account in the same way as it would if I said "debit". Another tip, if you are shopping and take cash back as part of the transaction instead of at an ATM, it reduces fees as well.

How about when I say "credit" I am using a Walmart reloadable card, not connected to any bank account, savings account, or anything else of importance. This is our "cash". My husband and I both use them like cash, instead of actual cash and instead of our debit card; that way we know exactly where our money is going each month and cannot overspend. Our only debt is our mortgage; everything else is free and clear. If we can't pay cash, we don't buy. This allowed us to retire when we wanted. We certainly do not have everything we want, but we darn sure have everything we need, along with a stress free life!

Eric, you can say "credit" for a debit card and it will take a few days to go through, its not really a "credit card" though.

Good for you! My son and his wife went through this as well and now they are almost debt free....it's a great feeling I'm sure.

This is exactly what we do. We put almost every expense possible on American Express Blue Cash for a nice year-end rebate and we shop a lot at Costco, where prices are generally competitive, with an executive membership (another year-end rebate). We pay the AMEX in full every month. I'd put my mortgage on it if I could!

I like this method better than paying straight cash simply because it's administratively easier and it keeps my FICO score as high as possible, which was really nice when mortgage rates dipped in the spring, giving us the chance to refinance from 5.5% to 4.375% on a 30 year fixed.

I would highly recommend Andrew Tobias' "Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need" (I believe that's the correct title), which really emphasizes that "low cost" is often, in the long run, more effective than "high return."

I own a Hess Visa card. I use it for everything I can...and at the end of the month they credit my account for about $54. I get 2% on every Hess station purchase and 1% for everything else. I haven't paid for gas in my motorcycle (out of my pocket) for 2 years. I never carry a balance and am never charged interest. I highly recommend this cc to anyone that wants a fair deal. I also paid off my 30 year mtg. in 10 years and haven't had a car payment in 2 years. I'm not wealthy, not poor, just HAPPY!!!

We have received thousands in cash back rewards in the 20+ years with a Discover Card. We always use it for groceries, gas, travel, etc.., we try to use less than $200 cash a month. With direct deposit this means only 1 or 2 trips to the bank (or ATM) a month. I really don't feel comfortable with a lot of cash, credit cards have limits on how much you lose if stolen, cash doesn't. Plus with credit if you find a great buy on something you use anyway you don't have to worry if you have enough cash on hand. Finally, with credit cards downloading your transactions to Quicken is a snap, with cash you have to enter all the details of each transaction. I'm not sure I would track my spending if I were using cash for all my purchases. All in all, I feel fairly confident that our family spends more wisely using credit than we would with cash.