Here’s more of a personal finance post, but, hopefully it gets you thinking. I’ve always liked the convenience of credit cards. They are certainly easy to use and above all it’s nice to be able to spend money on “instant loan” instead of having to wait until payday. The idea is to pay off your card at the end of each month in order to avoid interest on your monthly balance, but, if you are like most people you will settle for some debt, then some more, until you realize one day that you are in trouble.

The average American household with at least one credit card owes a collective sum of approximately $9,000 according to the Federal Reserve’s 2001 Survey of Consumer Finances. This is a very unfortunate statistic. Now keep in mind that this is an average. There are certainly people with much less, however, there are also some people with a lot more. Eventually once you reach debt well into the thousands of dollars it becomes increasingly difficult to get out of debt.

If you ask me, if you have ANY credit card debt at all you should cut out any unnecessary expenses in your life. I used to use credit cards until I realized how much more money I spent on “impulse” due to the convenience factor. Buy now, pay later. That’s the American dream isn’t it? Even a deal such as “24 month zero interest financing” is too good to be true. Think about it. You don’t owe any interest so it’s easy to make the purchase. The problem however is that most people who take this route don’t have the money to make the purchase in the first place. If you don’t make each monthly minimum payment you will soon find yourself paying ALL of the interest back to the date of purchase. That’s the catch.

Realistically, credit cards can be convenient if you have self control. If not then you should never get a credit card. I highly suggest going with a debit card. The cash will be pulled out of your bank account instantly and you will be unable to spend more than you can afford.