Did anybody here retire with no credit cards? How is it working out so far for you?

I would never give up my credit card. It is just so convenient not to carry a load of cash. Also, we buy many things on line, and unless you use PayPal linked to you a bank account you cannot order anything.
I do pay off the balance every month, however.
YMMV
 
Souschef said:
I would never give up my credit card. It is just so convenient not to carry a load of cash. Also, we buy many things on line, and unless you use PayPal linked to you a bank account you cannot order anything.
I do pay off the balance every month, however.
YMMV
Click to expand...

Other things that would more difficult:

- Renting a car. Almost impossible with out a CC

- Buying an airline ticket. Do they even take Paypal?

- Almost anything else you may want to reserve or pay for on line, like a hotel room. No card, no reservation.

DMIL got rid of her cards 18 years ago when DFIL passed. She has made out OK, but every once in a while we get a call to ask for a favor, where a CC is needed. We have no problem helping, but it means even for an 88 year old, sometimes you need a CC.
 
I use CC to my advantage, I get about $600 cash back every year and don't even pay 1 cent interest.
 
vipertom1970 said:
I use CC to my advantage, I get about $600 cash back every year and don't even pay 1 cent interest.
Click to expand...

There is no reason to give up credit cards, unless you want to go to a cash basis. If I was working for cash, I may do that.
 
The world is generally going the other way.
IIRC, you had some prior post against CC's, but can't remember why.
After some time for setup, one can bring in some reward bucks for minimal ongoing effort.
 
FANOFJESUS said:
I am thinking about getting rid of my credit cards.
Click to expand...
I did.

Immediately after my 1998 divorce, which was a financial disaster, I cut up all my credit cards and swore to never have another. I retired in 2009, still with no credit cards. Many of the old truisms about why you need a credit card have not been true for decades, or at least since back in the 1990's when banks started offering free debit Mastercards with their checking accounts to use instead of an old fashioned ATM card. I had absolutely zero problems with using my bank's debit Mastercard instead of a credit card. Check to see if your bank offers a debit Mastercard, or debit Visa. These are not credit cards but have many of the same advantages.

Anyway, as years went by, people on the ER Forum persuaded me that credit cards aren't all bad. In 2014 I saw a post by FIREd where he was talking about his Amazon Visa credit card and I thought, "hey, with all my Amazon shopping, those rewards would be great to have!"

So during my 17th year of having no credit cards, in 2014 I got an Amazon Visa card. I really like it. I pay it off every month automatically. That is still my only credit card.
 
Like Souschef and others have noted life would be difficult at best without credit cards. We buy a lot of stuff online, even from local stores like Home Depot, Lowes, Target, etc., that will ship stuff for free or minimal shipping costs if you're not in a hurry. With some stores if it is not in stock they will ship it to you sooner than they'll get it to a local store.

Like most on this forum we pay the credit cards off in full every month. Used that way I don't see anything wrong with it. The occasional reward cash back, travel points and such is just icing on the cake of a free loan.
 
If you had no credit card you'd have to give up traveling any great distance. No hotels (maybe cash only dives), no rental cars, airlines = difficult, few options in a real emergency, would have to carry A LOT of cash, etc. We use a credit card and get air miles. Upcoming roundtrip from our home to San Diego first class for 2 = $22.40. We didn't spend a penny more than we would have because we pay off the card balance each month. That trip alone is worth approx. $3000.00. We make the card work for us.
 
No. I use apps to be sure and pay balances each week. No chance of a late fee, plus I get $ back for Discover and USAA cards.
 
While I don't see a good reason NOT to use credit cards and several excellent reasons to use them (cash back being one), life is not TOTALLY lost without a credit card. Most internet purchases can be done just fine with a debit card (or, as someone else said, a PayPal account linked to a bank account). I'd think you can also buy an airline ticket with a debit card (although I have not actually tried that). Car rentals may be more difficult, but even that may be possible. In any event, can you survive without a cc? Sure, millions of people do. But why would you want to?
 
Modest hacking of credit cards has evolved into my other part time job in retirement (travel agent is the other one). Like others, we get a ton of free travel, upgrades, elite status and other perks, all at no cost.

I limit cards to 3-4 at a time. Only one is permanent (CSR). For the others, I cancel them once the big perks have been consumed, then look for the next good offer. We never carry a balance and current credit scores hover around 815.

One other thing that has been helpful over the years. When I have a dispute with a merchant over a major purchase, they don't have my money; and I have had CC companies ensure favorable resolution of disputes. I like that.
 
Since I consider debit cards to be far more of a security risk than a CC, I never use them (except at an ATM) and I really did not consider them in my response.

Debit cards can handle many of the CC transactions on the internet. Not sure how they are handled renting a car. But I feel far safer using a CC than Debit card
 
I'm pretty cautious about using debit cards because of the exposure to bank accounts that can have sizable deposits. We keep a checking account with a relatively small balance for use with unfamiliar ATMs.

I've been using a PayPal account linked to my Discover card quite a bit lately, particularly since Discover is offering a 5% rebate on PayPal purchases.
 
My bank told me to stop using my debit card for buying things on the internet as they have had to close the card a few times for being compromised. If you rent a car with a debit card they put a huge hold on your account. I would never be without a CC.
 
ERD50 said:
Why?



That could have a lot to do with the answers you get.



-ERD50
Click to expand...



+1000

As with most things, the answer will depend on why you wish to forego credit cards. The top reason I can think of is inablity to control spending and I’m sure that does not apply to OP. The next reason I might consider is privacy and security. I definitely think debit cards can substitute for credit accounts but not worth the security risk. At the end of the day the financial system imposes a surcharge on cash. I’d rather take a 2-5% discount and privacy is just a quaint notion unless you’re going off grid.
 
Red Badger said:
Modest hacking of credit cards has evolved into my other part time job in retirement (travel agent is the other one). Like others, we get a ton of free travel, upgrades, elite status and other perks, all at no cost.

I limit cards to 3-4 at a time. Only one is permanent (CSR). For the others, I cancel them once the big perks have been consumed, then look for the next good offer. We never carry a balance and current credit scores hover around 815.

One other thing that has been helpful over the years. When I have a dispute with a merchant over a major purchase, they don't have my money; and I have had CC companies ensure favorable resolution of disputes. I like that.
Click to expand...

You should give a tutorial as to how to do this!
 
MarieIG said:
You should give a tutorial as to how to do this!
Click to expand...

Actually, I'll start a thread next week on why I retired one card and started a new one, including how I "spent" many perks. FWIW, travel cards are probably less "generous" than several cashback cards (with fewer hoops to jump through). But, as a retired road warrior, I like my perks!

I'm certain many here will have equal or better examples of getting credit cards to pay (as the come on from CC companies is they anticipate getting folks on the hook for a revolving balance with 18+% interest rate). We, as a group, tend to opt out of any revolving debt.
 
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FANOFJESUS said:
I am thinking about getting rid of my credit cards.
Click to expand...

As others have asked - WHY?

(unless you mean some debit card tied to a bank account with a large sum, which is the only viable substitute, and issued by the same banks that issue credit cards, and riskier...), you'd render the following near impossible:

Travel
Ordering anything online
Uber/Lyft
Paying for gas at the pump
Benefits like cash back and other offers most good cards provide

I don't know what you're seeking to avoid, or what potential up-side you've found, so please share!
 
FANOFJESUS said:
I am thinking about getting rid of my credit cards.
Click to expand...

Without knowing why you are thinking of getting rid of your credit cards, any answer anyone gives may not apply to you. So generally I would say unless you have trouble paying a credit card on time every month, IMO there is no good reason to get rid of it.

But a credit card sure comes in handy sometimes if you are traveling somewhere or need to buy something online or even out shopping.

But I would never consider giving up my credit card and I have been retired over three years. Holding a CC comes in handy.
 
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