I agree with BCG here. (Which is unusual, for the record.)
I have been LBYM, use Quicken, have extensive experience with credit cards, budgeting, and tracking money. I am one of the most boringly responsible and self-aware people I know.
The (well my) claim is not that people on this board overspend. It is not that they are not LBYM. It is not that they can't afford it. It is not that they do not buy stuff that they don't need. It is simply that they spend a little more using credit cards than they do with cash/checks.
More than 50% of us here are above average, though, I know
. To those of us who are convinced we are right, I always suggest a test:
Stop using credit cards for a few months and see what happens. Even though I know that I am one of the favored Wobegonites and absolutely don't spend more using a credit card than with a debit card, every time I switch back to my debit card, my spending decreases. Every time I switch to my CC, my spending increases.
It makes sense, too. The CC company gives us all these side benefits - 2% cash back or miles or points, automatic categorization, the bill float. We're not paying any interest. And it's so easy to swipe that card. And when A is easier than B, most of us - in aggregate, on balance, on average, over time - will do more of A than B. The CC companies are smart businesses; if it weren't true, they wouldn't do these things.