Reply to Be honest - How many of you pay your complete credit card balance off each month?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Always.

I use my CC for everything, then pay it off each billing cycle. DH, too -- this way we earn cashback points (or at Target, 5% discount).

For those saying you must incur consumer debt to live...I grew up in a poor rural community, worked 4 part-time jobs through college (there were no full-time jobs in my area so I had to cobble together part-time ones), full-time plus (full-time plus a part-time job) through grad school (put myself through), and lived without many amenities (no cable, voice-only cell phone, ate out only 1 time per month, etc), no pets as they are a major expense, no car (metro, bus, or bike). Did this until DH and I were 30 and we actually had had decent paying jobs for several years, and could afford a DP on a house and emergency fund. We do now have a comfortable HHI (but we started out with an HHI of $23K when we moved to DC 10 years ago!). Single parents, I feel for you, that makes it so much harder -- but I would always cut frills (like pets) over carrying debt.

Things like pets, vacations, and cable are luxuries, but everyone expects to be able to have them. You [i]can[/i] have them, but unless you have lots of extra cash, you will end up going into debt to pay for them. It is all about priorities, and frankly, the lower your HHI, the more I feel you should prioritize avoiding consumer debt. [/quote]

I'm a previous poster with some debt, paying down, but not ashamed of the balance. I'm also a single parent. While it can be hard, I am doing a-ok generally, and living comfortably on a reasonable income. We don't spend much on frills. CC gets used for cash flow emergencies.

That said, what I think a lot of folks don't understand having largely never been there with kids involved is that living on a bare bones survival budget (which I'm no doing anymore, thank God..see above re: comfortable) is emotionally exhausting if you have to do it for too long. Being broke can make you so angry, especially if you are working your behind off to do it. And when you get to a place where things seem a little more solid, you can be loathe to go back to the survival mode when things take a dive for whatever reason. E.g., I'm not going to get rid of my son's bunny rabbit because I have credit card debt (not that you are suggesting that, PP. It's just an example). Most of the people I know who are or were really struggling to cover the basics are frankly financial geniuses to make it to the end of the month every time.

That one dinner out a month you put on a credit card, or trip to see Grandma at the holidays or what have you, feels like something you should be able to get to do and makes things a little more bearable. [/quote]

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