No More Credit Cards!

[LeboLebo]

Who here doesn't use credit cards at all?

For many years I was credit card-less, operating solely on cash/debit. Over the past 2 years I started using a credit card again for the points/rewards, paying off the balance every month. Additionally I've noticed recent forum discussions and the credit card churning blog post, and am curious to the forum's view of these seemingly magical pieces of plastic. 

I live overseas, and due to my most recent job change, the bank has frozen my credit card while my visa transfer is processing, and I FEEL LIBERATED!

I have again been very careful of my purchases and feel like I again have control of my spending. Upon reflection I realized, even with paying off the card every month, I was still unable to stay within my set budgets because I knew I would have surplus cash after getting paid to take care of it.

Ultimately the points and awards are just not worth it (to me) to stay within budget and focus on 'stachin cash

Any one else find this to be the case - or similar experience with cards?

[Neustache]

I'll let you know in a few months!  I lived without credit cards for 7 years or so, and just started churning for bonuses.  It's a fun game, for now, but I suspect at some point I'll drop it.  But since I am a SAHM, it's kind of a fun way to gamble (mostly gambling with will this make us spend more!).  However, since I am just now really tracking our spending, it will be tough to know if this increases our spending or not.  I used to just have a rough budget and always had more than enough money left over at the end of the month. 

[BooksAreNerdy]

I've never had a CC abuse problem, but stopped using them while we were paying off debt and never got back in the habit of using them. Just recently we started using them instead of our debit cards to get points and cash back. Its working well and since we use YNAB we haven't had trouble with over spending.

[KBecks2]

I have stopped using a cc and I am trying to get DH off his Cabelas card.  The points are not worth it, and I am much more frugal when using cash/debit. It is great.   Thanks to Dave Ramsey for cajoling me into trying it. 

[arebelspy]

Credit cards are great if you can handle your spending.

I hate cash, and when I have it, I spend way more, as I try to get rid of it as quickly as possible.

I have half-considered throwing away money because it's less hassle than dealing with it.  ;)

But credit cards make buying things easy!  And the fact that I'll make thousands in credit card rewards?  Yes, please, and thank you.

If you can't handle credit cards and can't control your spending, don't touch them.  For most Mustachians though they're a great thing.

[WildJager]

I use credit cards simply for the security.  Banks can reverse fraudulent credit charges quickly and easily, but for debit charges they have to work to actually get the money back.  I prefer debit though. 

I suppose a solution is to just keep a small amount in your checking account that you're willing to lose.  I've had false charges on my card, mostly when traveling, and just being able to call the bank and turn off the charge brings peace of mind for me.

[RH]

Its been shown that if you don't have a budget set up, you spend 25% more with credit cards vs cash....this makes credit card points useless since you're spending more money than you need to.

[Neustache]

I know what the studies say, but for some reason cash just completely disappears for me.  It really truly burns a hole in my pocket.  Credit/debit doesn't have the same effect for me.

[RH]

Neustash, it sounds like you don't have a budget...once the cash is gone, its gone and you're left eating top ramen. It takes about 3 months to retrain the financial muscles.

[TheThirstyStag]

I try to limit credit card use to gas and groceries, two of the big expenses in my budget.  With large cash back bonuses through cards that I could only get with great credit, it feels silly for me to leave those couple of hundred dollars on the table each year.  Plus, it helps me keep track of spending.

To me, rewards cards are great if you're responsible with credit.  If you start using them for every other purchase, then I can totally see unconsciously spending more money than if you physically handed over cash to pay for your miscellaneous items.

[chicagomeg]

I'm just terrible at remembering what I bought with cash, so my budget doesn't stay as accurate when I use it. But I usually have $10-30 on me & I can't say it burns a hole in my pocket. I just try to use my cards when possible so I can track things & get the rewards. Agree with others about avoiding debit for the lack of fraud protection. It makes me anxious to use my debit card. I will cry if Aldi is ever hacked haha. Up until now, I've been able to ignore all the hacking issues because I know I only ever use my CC and have good protection there.

[KBecks2]

I just started using debit more and the bank has said that debit is secure and they will help of there is a problem.  I am shopping less so there is less to worry over.  I might bust out a cc if I felt nervous or was traveling but for every day life I plan to use debit and cash.

[Left]

i don't see how debit is preferred over credit card.... you don't earn bonuses, 2% cash back isn't bad for example. Also if there is a fraud charge, even if you aren't liable with a debit card (credit card covers it as well), you're bank account is now frozen during investigation which means you can't access your money or pay bills, etc. On a credit card, who cares? You just use another credit card while they investigate.

It doesn't make sense to me why people are against credit card usage but still talk about investing. Credit cards for me are monthly "deferred" payments, kind of like deferring taxes in an ira but short term. If you can't control your spending, and you use a debit card, sure you can't buy more than what's in your bank account, but you can still buy until it is $0 which still isn't very pretty.

[arebelspy]

I know what the studies say, but for some reason cash just completely disappears for me.  It really truly burns a hole in my pocket.  Credit/debit doesn't have the same effect for me.

Ditto.

Neustash, it sounds like you don't have a budget...once the cash is gone, its gone and you're left eating top ramen. It takes about 3 months to retrain the financial muscles.

I don't have a budget, but I suspect my "financial muscles" are stronger than most here.

Remember, your way is not the only way.  ;)

MMM doesn't have a budget either.  Sometimes one progresses past the point of needing one. Sometimes people like to have them regardless. That's fine too.

[kpd905]

For the last 1.5 years almost all of my spending has gone toward hitting sign-up bonuses on cards.  This will get you anywhere from 10-75% back on your spending.  We've gotten 12 roundtrip flights, 19 free hotel nights and about $1200 in statement credit since March 2013.  And I am pretty sure that between my fiance and I we have about 1 million points/miles sitting in all of our accounts right now.

It allows us to get our travel budget close to zero while still enjoying multiple vacations a year, leaving us money to plow into 401ks and student loans.

[GizmoTX]

We now buy everything we can via CCs, unless there's a fee charged. We have never carried a balance. The advantages over cash, check, or debit card are numerous: security, tracking, & rewards. I have lost count of the number of free airline trips we've taken. We carry a bit of cash in our wallets, just in case, but rarely use it. Since we have always paid off the cards every month, we regard swiping a card like spending cash, only with an automatic record.

[Neustache]

Oh, I have a budget.  We only spend 60% of our net.  Not a great savings rate by MMM standards, but pretty good compared to...a lot of people.

Here's what happens with cash - say I budget $80 for groceries and my bill comes to $75.  I stick to a list and don't buy extra stuff, and I end up with $5 leftover.  Now, a really good and organized person would take their cash envelope system and make sure that $5 gets put away when they get home.  But I don't.  I should, but I don't.  So then that $5 ends up feeling like 'free' money and gets spent on who knows what.  Whereas if I use my debit or credit, the $75 is all that gets spent.  I realize I'm not the norm, but that is how it works for me.  I tried it; I failed.  Debit and Credit works best for me.   YMMV.

[Zikoris]

I also find cash too easy to spend - I operate cash-free. My boyfriend keeps a bit of cash for when it's the only option, and for laundry. Credit cards are just such a superior option - SO much easier for splitting expenses, and we rack up rewards like crazy when we vacation twice a year.

I think the reason cash is so easy to spend is that there's no permanent record. Every credit/debit card transaction I make goes into my Mint permanent record, that I'll have to look at forever. Seriously, forever. With cash, when it's gone it's gone, and if you spent $60 on fancy vegan artisan chocolate it's all wiped from the record.

[MoneyCat]

Long, long ago, when I was a kid who didn't know anything, I messed up badly with credit cards.  Seven years ago, I learned how to handle money and credit and I became a whiz with credit cards, so now I use them for almost all of my purchasing.  I've earned good discounts of stuff, lots of cashback and reward credits, and free rental insurance, free purchase protection, etc.  As long as you don't have an addictive personality, credit cards are wonderful financial tools.  You just have to be the kind of person who doesn't want to spend money to get the most out of them.

[arebelspy]

Oh, I have a budget.  We only spend 60% of our net.  Not a great savings rate by MMM standards, but pretty good compared to...a lot of people.

Here's what happens with cash - say I budget $80 for groceries and my bill comes to $75.  I stick to a list and don't buy extra stuff, and I end up with $5 leftover.  Now, a really good and organized person would take their cash envelope system and make sure that $5 gets put away when they get home.  But I don't.  I should, but I don't.  So then that $5 ends up feeling like 'free' money and gets spent on who knows what.  Whereas if I use my debit or credit, the $75 is all that gets spent.  I realize I'm not the norm, but that is how it works for me.  I tried it; I failed.  Debit and Credit works best for me.   YMMV.

I'm the total opposite. If I use a CC or debit card (and probably even if I used a check for purchases) I have a tendency to buy "just a couple of more things" because I have access to more money then I do if I have just cash on me. I generally only take the amount of cash I am willing to spend into a store and no more. Can't spend more than you bring with you...ever... if you are only using cash. Don't want to spend more than $20, don't bring in any more than $20. It's also harder for me to part with cash as it's more "visible" to me than a CC amount - which doesn't become visiable until I get the bill a month later. So using cash makes me stop and think about my spending values more so than with a CC or debit card.

I'm the exact same as Neustache. Leftover change (even fives, tens, and twenties, not just coin change) gets frivolously spent.  Credit cards let me only buy exactly what I need/want and not extra junk. Doesn't matter that the limit is 30k or whatever, I only buy what I intended with a CC. I only buy what I intended at first with cash too, but not with the leftover cash.

My question for your cash system though has to do with what I bolded, above.  How the heck do you know how much to bring?  If you have a list of 20 items you sit at home and calculate how much it will all come to?  And you know the price for all of them?  What if you need something you don't know the price for? What if the price on something went up?  What if you think of something else you need?  You have to make another trip?  I just don't understand how the "only bring how much cash you need" works in the real world.

[Zikoris]

But in real life I am like you in that I am very disciplined about spending so could have a wad of cash or a CC with a $50K limit and I still only spend what I planned to spend and rarely any more. But I have done a comparison over the years based on my spending and I do have more of a tendency to buy more when I have an open-ended funds like from a CC or debit card than I do if I only have $20 on me. I make more frugal choices with cash than I do with a CC.

I think this type of stuff just puzzles us credit users. I mean, if you decide what you're going to buy before you even leave your house, how would method of payment possibly make a difference?

I mean, here's how the grocery buying process works for me: We do inventory of anything we desperately need. We review the flyers for sales, and check for any loyalty points offers for stocking up on the basics. Those two things result in a list. We go to the store and buy the things on the list. We're in and out in 10-15 minutes.

[LeboLebo]

Thanks everyone! Lots of contrasting views here and interesting to see what works for different people

@Neustache - Will be very curious to know how it goes! Please remember to update this thread when you find out

@RH - certainly what I feel

Overall we do have a budget, perhaps not as detailed as YNAB but we manage to stach between 50-60% every month - all accounted for in Excel and Google Docs Spreadsheet. Google Sheets acts as my mobile daily tracker where I log everything I spend each time I spend it.

Perhaps if I was more detailed I could sweep those gas/grocery under spends in an my index account? Something to think about!

@TheThirstyStag - This is what I am referring to, do you feel the couple hundred is worth is a year?

@kpd905 & @GizmoTx - This is all very impressive!! But not something I think I have the patience to monitor, maybe I'm missing out, but then again one size does not fit all :)

Like @Spartana wrote, ultimately it's just harder for me to part with cash as it's more visible, using cash makes me stop and think.

Ultimately - my take aways are so far
1. Refine and add more detail to my budget in attempt to optimize and add even more savings
2. We also do quite a bit of travel, so follow along these next few months and see if I can learn more about churning/hacking rewards

[Goldielocks]

Oh, I have a budget.  We only spend 60% of our net.  Not a great savings rate by MMM standards, but pretty good compared to...a lot of people.

Here's what happens with cash - say I budget $80 for groceries and my bill comes to $75.  I stick to a list and don't buy extra stuff, and I end up with $5 leftover.  Now, a really good and organized person would take their cash envelope system and make sure that $5 gets put away when they get home.  But I don't.  I should, but I don't.  So then that $5 ends up feeling like 'free' money and gets spent on who knows what.  Whereas if I use my debit or credit, the $75 is all that gets spent.  I realize I'm not the norm, but that is how it works for me.  I tried it; I failed.  Debit and Credit works best for me.   YMMV.

I'm the total opposite. If I use a CC or debit card (and probably even if I used a check for purchases) I have a tendency to buy "just a couple of more things" because I have access to more money then I do if I have just cash on me. I generally only take the amount of cash I am willing to spend into a store and no more. Can't spend more than you bring with you...ever... if you are only using cash. Don't want to spend more than $20, don't bring in any more than $20. It's also harder for me to part with cash as it's more "visible" to me than a CC amount - which doesn't become visiable until I get the bill a month later. So using cash makes me stop and think about my spending values more so than with a CC or debit card.

I'm the exact same as Neustache. Leftover change (even fives, tens, and twenties, not just coin change) gets frivolously spent.  Credit cards let me only buy exactly what I need/want and not extra junk. Doesn't matter that the limit is 30k or whatever, I only buy what I intended with a CC. I only buy what I intended at first with cash too, but not with the leftover cash.

My question for your cash system though has to do with what I bolded, above.  How the heck do you know how much to bring?  If you have a list of 20 items you sit at home and calculate how much it will all come to?  And you know the price for all of them?  What if you need something you don't know the price for? What if the price on something went up?  What if you think of something else you need?  You have to make another trip?  I just don't understand how the "only bring how much cash you need" works in the real world.

I love arebelspy's posts, but the exact opposite is true for us. We went to a cash envelope system for two years.  Why it worked:

Cash unspent could roll into next month, but if you are short on, say entertainment envelope, because of neices' birthdays, or back to school shopping, you must borrow from another envelope, such as groceries, then there is no steak for that month...

Going grocery shopping, we bring $200 cash, then need to put back items at the till if we spend over.  You can bet it is the BBQ sauce and not the bananas that gets put back.

On a cc I would always justify that little extra as reasonable, BBQ sauce is on sale!,  as it was easier just to buy it than put back.

Cash was the only way for us to adjust to new budgets and spend habits.

I loved, loved, loved seeing the $20's build up in my personal allowance jar.  Because I did not spend on me, and the cash was not going to pay for household extras anymore.  I never had a personal spend allowance before that.  It was just one large chequing account.

Lastly, I tend to spend on kids activities too much, but it comes in waves of $200 payments every so often.  Envelopes forced me to plan how to pay for big expenses starting 2 months out, including christmas.  I would physically count and set aside the cash.  I could literally see what was available, and say no to that neato one day craft workshop for DD.

After 2 years, we are back to cc , but I already see some worrying things.  A big problem is two spenders and not knowing how much remains in the monthly budget.  I have mint setup, but need to get used to looking at it.  So much easier to just pull cash out of envelopes, immediately before shopping, and talk before with DH.

I have no problem not spending cash, as I  rarely carry more than $10 at a time.  Instead, cash is just pulled from the home stash right before the planned shopping trip... Or removed from the budget envelope the same day, when we get home,  in the chance we did use a cc after all.

[arebelspy]

That sounds like so much more work to me than just showing up at the store and buying whatever you want/need, but if it works for you, great!  :)

[TheThirstyStag]

@TheThirstyStag - This is what I am referring to, do you feel the couple hundred is worth is a year?

Absolutely.  Not only do I get this cash back in a super easy way, it has also helped trim our budget for gas/groceries once I was able to compare our spending to US household median numbers and convince the SO that finding deals is worth it.

AMEX blue cash + Chase Freedom is the combo I use.

[Bob W]

For the last 1.5 years almost all of my spending has gone toward hitting sign-up bonuses on cards.  This will get you anywhere from 10-75% back on your spending.  We've gotten 12 roundtrip flights, 19 free hotel nights and about $1200 in statement credit since March 2013.  And I am pretty sure that between my fiance and I we have about 1 million points/miles sitting in all of our accounts right now.

It allows us to get our travel budget close to zero while still enjoying multiple vacations a year, leaving us money to plow into 401ks and student loans.

WOW!  That really opened my eyes.    My wife was wanting to pick up some extra money.  She has great credit so this may work for her.  It looks like you have earned something like $17,000 in value?  Is that about right?   Like $1,000 per month?

I've zipped through some of the cc post before but really never got hit with it like this.   

Is there a good web site you can recommend or some great posts here to get me motivated and on the churn wagon?

[arebelspy]

I've zipped through some of the cc post before but really never got hit with it like this.   

I've said it before, but the wife and I have earned ~1 million miles in the last 5 months or so, redeemed as ~3000 CASH to our accounts and ~700k miles (which is about 25-30 round trip flights), with very little work.  It would have well been worth it even without the miles, just for the cash.

I'm kicking myself I kept putting it off (for years) and thinking it wasn't worth the time/effort and that it would be too complicated.  It was well worth it, at a rate of hundreds of dollars per hour, and quite simple.

I highly recommend it.

[johnnylighthouse]

LeboLebo I'm on the same boat as you.  I have credit cards and pay them off on time but they make it too easy to blow the budget.  So my direct deposit goes to savings and on line bills and we cash my wife's paychecks at the bank branch around the corner and use that cash for groceries and other in person shopping.  Yes there is a moment of thought before we go to the store along the lines of what do I need, how much will it cost and do I have enough cash.  For us this is an important thought to have anyway as our budget is pretty tight.  Sometimes I'll take way too much and put it away again when I get home.  No big deal.

[kpd905]

For the last 1.5 years almost all of my spending has gone toward hitting sign-up bonuses on cards.  This will get you anywhere from 10-75% back on your spending.  We've gotten 12 roundtrip flights, 19 free hotel nights and about $1200 in statement credit since March 2013.  And I am pretty sure that between my fiance and I we have about 1 million points/miles sitting in all of our accounts right now.

It allows us to get our travel budget close to zero while still enjoying multiple vacations a year, leaving us money to plow into 401ks and student loans.

WOW!  That really opened my eyes.    My wife was wanting to pick up some extra money.  She has great credit so this may work for her.  It looks like you have earned something like $17,000 in value?  Is that about right?   Like $1,000 per month?

I've zipped through some of the cc post before but really never got hit with it like this.   

Is there a good web site you can recommend or some great posts here to get me motivated and on the churn wagon?

All of our redemptions so far have had an estimated $10,500 in value, and we can probably get another $7-10k out of our remaining points.  So yeah, that $17,000 is a pretty good guess.

For resources I'd recommend:

Blogs: The Points Guy, Million Mile Secrets, and Frugal Travel Guy (the first two I basically check every few days to see if a new card offer is out, but Frugal Travel Guy actually has some good tips for redemptions)

For more in depth info, the FlyerTalk Forums are really informative.  But don't count on them to help out a newbie with a specific question, they'll bash you for not reading a 500 page long thread from start to finish.


This thread keeps track of the best current offers for most cards: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/credit-card-programs/1177334-special-credit-card-offers-master-thread-subscription.html

[Retired To Win]

The Credit Card Monster is a big fucking myth.  There are numerous benefits to having credit cards and using "the man's money" to float your purchases until it's time to pay off your statement each month.

I have over 30 credit cards and more than $300,000 in available installment credit.  And, no, I don't owe credit card companies a dime (at least not beyond each month's payment due date).

It's all about fiscal discipline.  Which means it's all about being a financial adult.  Anybody who can't handle having a credit card in their wallet needs to grow up.

[Retired To Win]

It's all about fiscal discipline.  Which means it's all about being a financial adult.  Anybody who can't handle having a credit card in their wallet needs to grow up.

I suppose I could say the same thing about those who say they can't handle cash.

Actually... YES, you could.

[Neustache]

It's all about fiscal discipline.  Which means it's all about being a financial adult.  Anybody who can't handle having a credit card in their wallet needs to grow up.

I suppose I could say the same thing about those who say they can't handle cash.

^^^Hahahaa..so true! LOL.  It's almost like having cash turns me into a little kid that wants to go buy candy or junk food.  Ha!

[KBecks2]

This is a very interesting discussion. For me, when I shop w a cc, I end up buying whatever the hell I want.  And, because I can still afford it, I don't see it as a spending problem, but that behavior kills our savings rates. 

So I am doing debit because they feel more like real dollars and I will work on getting tighter w money and needs and budgeting.  I want to mostly hate unnecessary items and extras.

The cc churn and massive rewards sound tempting, and I would almost want to ask for a super guide of how to do it, but it is something to be very careful with and it could hurt some people if they are not extremely disciplined (most people are not).

[KBecks2]

The Credit Card Monster is a big fucking myth.  There are numerous benefits to having credit cards and using "the man's money" to float your purchases until it's time to pay off your statement each month.

I have over 30 credit cards and more than $300,000 in available installment credit.  And, no, I don't owe credit card companies a dime (at least not beyond each month's payment due date).

It's all about fiscal discipline.  Which means it's all about being a financial adult.  Anybody who can't handle having a credit card in their wallet needs to grow up.

For me, I'm not talking about large amounts of unnecessary spending.  So I won't accept being called a child about this.  It is a matter of $10 - $20 slipping away at a time and that kind of leak adds up in a month, more if you have a mindset of occasional treats.

So, I am using a method that works the best for me to fix it.  I feel great that I'm addressing it and making improvements.  Why get so nasty about it?  Different strokes for different folks.

[Pooperman]

I question each purchase. I carry $50 in cash that sits there just in case for times I can't use a credit card or just need cash for something.

SO came from the all cash world. I've spend 3 years trying to get her to use the cards for two reasons. First is cash back. Second is expense tracking. She was a secret spender with cash (i.e. it burns a hole in her pocket, but it also stops when she's out of cash). Knowing we review our purchases on the cards monthly keeps her honest on the card, so overall it's a good thing.

For me, using credit cards + mint allows me to see the leaks and plug them. I budget in a general sense (i.e. $300 for groceries every month) but reality will be up or down from there depending on events!

[Zikoris]

It's all about fiscal discipline.  Which means it's all about being a financial adult.  Anybody who can't handle having a credit card in their wallet needs to grow up.

I suppose I could say the same thing about those who say they can't handle cash.

If there were any inherent benefit to using cash, it would certainly be a valid criticism. By not being able to use credit cards however, you lose out of a tremendous amount of free money and perks.

[oinkette]

Up until literally this week I used cash for all my non-recurring purchases.  I'm just better able to reel it in when I'm seeing those dollars go out. I broke down and applied for a cash-back card (Citi Double Points) just because it makes sense to at least get something back, no matter how small. 

Now I just have to keep myself from spending and justifying it "just to get the cash-back."  That's my main concern.

[arebelspy]

It's all about fiscal discipline.  Which means it's all about being a financial adult.  Anybody who can't handle having a credit card in their wallet needs to grow up.

I suppose I could say the same thing about those who say they can't handle cash.

Fair enough, but I think those of us that don't like cash don't like the inconvenience.  Whereas the people who say they can't handle credit cards mean they actually can't handle it.

I literally have contemplated throwing dollars away to not have to deal with them.  So sometimes I burn through cash I have just to get rid of it, buying unnecessary stuff so I don't have the cash anymore.  It's not about not being able to resist buying the things, just hating cash - what a hassle.

Most other things in my life that I don't like dealing with, I don't.  Cash is one that I try to avoid as much as possible, but then what do you do with it when you can't? 

[frugalnacho]

I can handle either.  I prefer cc because it is less hassle than carrying around cash.  Plus if I happen across something I need, or a good opportunity I don't need to worry about not having enough cash on hand.  My last grocery trip ended up in several unplanned purchases because stuff was on such a great sale.  Jugs of orange juice (that I drink a glass of every morning, and has a shelf life of 2+ months) was only $1.50? SCORE! Alfredo sauce regularly $4 on sale for only $1? SCORE.  I have happened across jimmy dean sausage that was about to expire on sale for $1 before.  A dollar for a one pound package of name brand sausage! Everyone thought I looked silly rolling up to the counter with 15 pounds of sausage (and I didn't even have it on my list), but I have been eating that sausage for like 4 months now.  The lady in front of me had 2 packs of the bob evans for $4.  Why would you spend $4 when another equal brand is only $1? I get a feeling of euphoria every time I fry up sausage for breakfast knowing it only cost me 33 cents for that serving.  But anyway....

I don't see the difference between cc and cash.  I don't spend what I don't have, and I can do math.  I don't understand people that get to the end of the month and go "oh shit I spent $800 on my cc, but I only have $600!".  If you only had $600 to pay for stuff, then why did you charge $800 on the cc?  It seems so foreign to me.

[Goldielocks]

That sounds like so much more work to me than just showing up at the store and buying whatever you want/need, but if it works for you, great!  :)

Haha. Buying whatever you want or need is what got us into a mess, and only works when both of you significantly underspend income all the time.

Always staying on budget is tough without a passive barrier.

[eyePod]

I've never had a CC abuse problem, but stopped using them while we were paying off debt and never got back in the habit of using them. Just recently we started using them instead of our debit cards to get points and cash back. Its working well and since we use YNAB we haven't had trouble with over spending.

I didn't have CC's until a few years ago (about age 25). We use YNAB and we've decoupled our spending and our sources.

All of the available cash we have on hand is assigned to some budget category. If we spend using cash/credit/check, etc. there is no difference. The budget does not equal the CC limit. I don't even know what those limits are. I use my CC for almost anything because we get extra points.

[mpg350]

I am the same I spend less with a CC it seems.  I just buy what I need and I know in the back of my head at the end of a month
I have a bigger bill due if I spend more.  I could have a 100k limit I wouldn't buy more because of my limit. 

[seanc0x0]

I have a problem with cash. I get it and it slowly trickles away, even though I have a budget and stick quite closely to it.  For one thing, it's really easy to forget to put a transaction into YNAB right away, and if I don't, I forget. 

I also seem to lose cash, physically. Particularly coins.  I imagine it's a bit worse for us Canadians than those of you in the US, as we have $1 and $2 coins which means losing a coin has a greater impact.

I use credit cards (and to a lesser extent, debit cards, but they don't have rewards), which means I have a record of everything I spend, regardless of whether or not I remembered to put it into YNAB. It's just much more convenient.

*edit: two thoughts, one sentence. Didn't properly get either one across.

[johnny847]

I much prefer credit cards for reasons already mentioned:

1) In the US at least, way better protection of fradulent transactions. Much easier to reverse a charge when money hasn't actually left your bank account as with debit.
2) Earning points/miles/cash back. Easily earn 1-5% per transaction on a regular basis, and then if you churn cards you can earn wayyy more.

Also, cash is harder to track! I track my spending down to the penny in YNAB (not using Mint or some other automated online service, because I'm paranoid about letting 3rd party companies have access to this kind of data), and I have to remember to write down every cash transaction as it occurs, otherwise I'll very easily forget.

Of course, if you end up spending more money with a credit card then without, then the potential downsides of credit cards outweigh the upsides.