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Using credit cards can lead to mindless purchases.
- Credit cards play a large role in debt for Americans.
- Author Laura McCamy stopped using credit cards to pay off her debt; however, with no revolving credit, her credit score evaporated and it affected her ability to get a loan.
- Though giving up credit cards can help you get out of debt, there are some unexpected problems that come with cutting the cards.
I am a shopaholic. I find it hard to resist cute things and the world is filled with cute things.
When I got my credit card bill and I was bummed about my high balance, I would cheer myself up by shopping - and charging my purchases on my credit card. So, it's no surprise that, every time I started to pay down my credit card balance, I found a way to spend it up again.
Credit card debt is a problem for many Americans. CNBC reported that the average American had over $6,000 in credit card debt at the beginning of 2018. Americans paid a whopping $104 billion in credit card interest and fees in 2017, according to the New York Post. That's more than $300 for every man, woman, and child in the country.
In the early 2000s, I knew I needed to change my financial habits, or I would never get out of debt. I realized the only way I could do it was to ditch my credit cards, so I made the leap and stopped using plastic. The results weren't what I expected.