Can I carry on credit card free indefinitely??

Xenomorhic

Hi everyone, just had an interesting conversation with my friend at the weekend!
I'm 26 now and have never had an 'active' credit card. I was given one through the HSBC as a student which was never used, I only got them as part of the whole student deal. They have now not bothered reissuing them to me as I never bothered picking up the last lot..!
My friend is incredulous that I don't have one. She says they are really useful and she says she could not live without hers- she asked how I shopped online! I explained that I used Switch and rarely if ever had problems- the one time I did have my friend were both trying to purchase something so he used his card and I sent him the cash- but it has only happened once.
I wondered after that if I ought to get one, if I will increasingly notice that I can't use my Switch.
I was wary because my aunt warned me off them early on in my teens, she had run up massive debts and suffered depression as a result of them.
I guess I consider myself sensible, I've made it to 26, cleared my student debt, and have a fair bit in savings. Should I get a credit card, or just stay well clear?

Rikki

I don't like to use switch online as if any thing happens its my money.

I wouldn't say you should have a credit card,but if used sensibly there are some good advantages.
I use mine for safety reasons online. I pay off the full balance each month.
If you buy something with a credit card and the shop or company goes out of business before you receive your goods you can recover the money from the credit card company. If you used switch/cash you money is lost

rchddap1

Its also a good way to build up a credit history when / if you take the decision to apply for a mortgage.

daveboy

There are many benefits such as cashback to be had by using a credit card, that you are missing out on at the moment.

It is a good idea to have one in my personal opinion but you need to ensure that you remain disciplined once you have it. One thing I always do is, once the credit limit has been set, if I think it is too high, I'll ring to get it reduced. I did this about a year ago with a Barclaycard - they gave me £2350 to start with and I took it all the way down to £400 eventually.

Discipline, for me, is the name of the game. Having one credit card is a good idea - don't fall into the trap of applying for more and more as you'll end up stuffed.

Karnam

it's worth using it every now and then to build credit and esp with purchases over 100 you get credit card protection kicking if anything goes wrong... I admire you for never using the student credit card though. most people i know wish they had never ticked that credit card box on thier student account forms!

Xenomorhic

Well I am disciplined, I'm really careful with my cash cos I have a big purchase lined up before I'm 30- a horse!

If they do fraud protection, that is an attractive plus.

Do you pay charges if you have but don't use one? Here's how clueless I am..

And yeah I guess I don't have credit history- had a single student loan which has long been paid off and that's it!

I'm very glad I didn't use them Karnam- too tempting to stop once you got started I bet!

Is there a recommendation for 'which' CCs to go for on this list somewhere?

Karnam

haha yea i know students in thier 2nd years with 3+ credit cards! its a downward spiral. the majority of cards dont have an annual charge and you can set up direct debits for each month so that you can actually avoid EVER having to pay interest.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cgi-bin/viewnews.cgi?newsid1087717218,37843,

martin has tons of advice for people like you on the above link

serpico

You should have one or two, they have there uses for the reasons already given, particularly insurance cover on purchases, in fact you would be far better buying a lot of stuff on credit card just to have the insurance cover rather than by cash, cheque or debit card. plus there is always the occasion when only a credit or debit card is accepteable for I.D purposes for example booking on line with Easyjet.

You should be eternally grateful to your wonderful Aunt for her words of great wisdom and that you had the good sense to take her sound advice.

You are a rich man/woman among serfs and debtors who are now beggining to feel the pain, suffering and misery of their foolishness and stupidity and a lot more to come from falling into the have now pay later trap that they have been baited and hooked into by legalised loan sharks and hucksters operating credit card scams for biilions of profits.

Those fools will soon feel the excrutiating agony and realise the power of compound interest, the most powerful tool in the world, particularly now the credit card companies have them ensnared and beginning to turn the screw by withdrawing O% deals, increasing interest rates as Barclaycard and the introduction of annual fees as MBNA have done.

Get your card/s, use wisely and clear your balance every month, these people make enough from their merchant fees that the retailers pay. Never, never leave an uncleared balance for these shiesters. Remember well the sneering words of Barrett the snake oil merchant CEO of Barclaycard. "I would never allow my family to borrow on a Barclaycard they are far to expensive".

If your buying a horse pay the price and have it thoroughly vetted, the full monty by an expert vet in this field, and if you are a novice get an expert, FBHS or BHSI nothing less to ride it and make sure it boxes and travels well with no vices, save yourself a lot of heartache, leave the thoroughbreds alone and get a good Irish draught/thoroughbred cross. good luck.

Edited. add horse advice.