Am I weird for not having a credit card?

[MC.Morrado]

I'm 20 years old and have never owned a credit card (and don't plan on it) yet I see many people around me with 2 or sometimes 4+ cards. Am I weird for not having/wanting a credit card? I don't use crypto or any virtual payment services. All I have is cash, debit, and sometimes use checks (Yes, people still write checks in America. More common than you think)

 

One thing I never understood as an autistic guy is how normalized being thousands of dollars in debt is. I just operate by 'Do I have the money to buy this? yes or no'. Am I a weirdo?

[Mark Kaine]

I mean technically it's not about debt necessarily... you're "likely" going to pay it back anyways, I see it more like paypal pay later... plus there's a lot of benefits, like here in Europe you basically can't rent a car without a credit card... even buying tickets for a flight can be difficult.

 

14 minutes ago, MC.Morrado said:

Do I have the money to buy this? yes or no'. Am I a weirdo

That's the thing... Do you have regular income, yes or no?  If you do that means you can buy this new car, house, etc in 15 years, or you can "buy" it now...  If you don't, then please don't get a credit card lol. 

 

So that's why many people have "debt" (yes it kinda sucks but that's how our system works, mostly) even billionaires have "debt"... They better cause that means less taxes and stuff! ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

 

[Landvader07]

11 minutes ago, MC.Morrado said:

I'm 20 years old and have never owned a credit card (and don't plan on it) yet I see many people around me with 2 or sometimes 4+ cards. Am I weird for not having/wanting a credit card? I don't use crypto or any virtual payment services. All I have is cash, debit, and sometimes use checks (Yes, people still write checks in America. More common than you think)

 

One thing I never understood as an autistic guy is how normalized being thousands of dollars in debt is. I just operate by 'Do I have the money to buy this? yes or no'. Am I a weirdo?

No it is not weird to not have a credit card. I don't have one either and don't plan on it. Infact I think it is better to not have a Credit card so you don't have a lot of debt unless you use it properly and don't have a lot of debt.

[starsmine]

I mean, its literally free money. (rewards, higher credit score)
Assuming you pay it off.

And if you ever find a month where you are stretched thin, you dont have to pay it all off. Just make sure its not multiple months

[wasab]

you will probably want to get one at some point. it is needed to build credit scores which is important when you apply to rent an apartment, apply for car loans, or apply for a mortgage. 

 

being responsible with it is a different matter. if you cant be financially responsible, get a "credit" card that functions just like a debit card, IMPORTANT! MAKE SURE IT HAS NO OVERDRAFT PROTECTION, but allow you to build credit score like a credit card. 

 

Edit:

I also have to mention people without a credit card and people in debt because of credit card are subsidizing the rewards and discounts of people who are responsible with credit cards. This video explains it quite well.

 

1) Having a credit card and being responsible with it is great. 2) Not having a credit card is mediocre but not terrible; you are just subsidizing the higher price merchant charges due to credit cards, but getting none of the rewards. 3) Not being responsible with a credit card and getting hit with interest is terrible and the worst.

 

if you cant do 1, do 2. if you are in 3, quickly cut up your credit card and go do 2. I owned a credit card since 18 year old and I have not paid a single cent in interest. i hit a 800+ credit score at the age of 26, possibly earlier. They kinda go up and down depending on the number of credit checks and the amount of credit utilization at the time.

[Caroline]

Yeah. Welcome to the club.

 

Not because debt alone, I mean yeah debt is bad and I don't want to be in debt, the true scam in my country is interest rates, they're OBSCENE to say the least, think up to 5 digits obscene, yeah, there are cards with up to 39000% interest, that's the catch only visible in the microscopic text for ants on public advertising, or hidden deep into the contract NOBODY reads prior to signing.

 

I get the card issuer has to put up those rates because, well, the country is broke and rampant inflation is a constant, but it gets worse, the scam is ginormous, they get 39000% BUT get this: if you get into a term deposit you only get 1.5% a year...

 

Pretend I borrow $100.000 in bananacoin because I need to buy... a bag of salt, and want to repay it over 12 months (I'm a moron), I'd have to pay back $279.155,50 EVERY MONTH FOR A YEAR, meaning at the end of the year the state gets $3.349.866,00 in exchange for the $100.000 I just borrowed from it.

 

It wouldn't make sense anywhere in the world, but that's how it is, and that's why the US has spaceships and we have mud huts and malaria, in a nutshell.

It's a death trap BUT at the same time it's pretty much free money for some people because they don't repay it back, ever, and they don't get $100k, they get billions and billions (trump.gif) -which would be a couple thousand dollars- over time, and flee the country. Boom, no more debt.

 

But yeah if I ever escape this asylum I wouldn't get a credit card either, I just think if I can't afford something with the money I have now, I simply don't buy it, not the end of the world.

[Doobeedoo]

Neither do I, don't plan to really. I don't rent apartment, car, fly or pay mortgage. Don't even know what that credit score is. Where I am for most people it's just, if you can't pay X in cash fully, you can't buy it. Most can't gurantee it with anything or with jobs so. Most live from paycheck to paycheck barely.

With regular jobs people aren’t buying a place to live, they couldn't pay it off in a century. 

[porina]

9 hours ago, MC.Morrado said:

All I have is cash, debit, and sometimes use checks (Yes, people still write checks in America. More common than you think)

From a simple "paying for things" perspective a debit card does the same job, so credit cards are not a necessity in that sense. I have 3, not because I need 3 now but they're historic and I never got around to cancelling any of them since there is no cost to me having them. I never buy something I can't afford.

 

In the UK, when buying goods there are additional consumer protections if you pay by credit card you don't get with a debit card. If conditions are met the card provider is jointly liable with the seller, so you have more chance of getting your money back if anything goes wrong.

 

Cheques in the UK are pretty much dead. There might be obscure cases for business use, but even then bank transfers have largely taken over.

 

9 hours ago, starsmine said:

I mean, its literally free money. (rewards, higher credit score)
Assuming you pay it off.

You gain credit score by being on time with payments. It doesn't have to be fully paid off ever. They actually prefer if you don't so they can earn the sweet interest, as long as you continue to make at least the minimum payment on time.

[Needfuldoer]

Credit cards are perfectly fine as long as you're disciplined enough to treat them as cash and pay the balance in full every month.

[starsmine]

1 hour ago, porina said:

You gain credit score by being on time with payments. It doesn't have to be fully paid off ever. They actually prefer if you don't so they can earn the sweet interest, as long as you continue to make at least the minimum payment on time.

no, having a rolling balance dings you. 

[MC.Morrado]

1 hour ago, Needfuldoer said:

Credit cards are perfectly fine as long as you're disciplined enough to treat them as cash and pay the balance in full every month.

Personally, I don't spend enough money to need a credit card. I only see shopping as a chore. I don't have my own online shopping accounts, I just share my grandmother's Amazon account for free shipping.

 

90% of people I know aren't what you would call responsible and have ungodly amounts of credit card debt.

[porina]

40 minutes ago, starsmine said:

no, having a rolling balance dings you. 

Maybe there are worldwide differences but that is not the case here providing you are not late and make the minimum payment.

 

Edit: I did a double check in case things have changed. So far what I've seen does not suggest this is the case. However, a related factor on your credit score is how much ongoing debt you have. Having a large unpaid balance could be seen negatively by future lenders, but that isn't due to not fully paying off every month.

[starsmine]

21 minutes ago, porina said:

Maybe there are worldwide differences but that is not the case here providing you are not late and make the minimum payment.

Its about credit utilization.

Credit utilization is how much credit do you have, and how much you have used. When you get your credit card bill, its for a month ago, your current month usage is now your usage. Going over 6% usage starts to look like you are leaning on credit, and over 30% starts to pull you down. This here and credit history length are my two biggest dings to my score. If I can fully pay off my cards I would get like 10 more credit points. 



Fully pay off your bill every time in full, if you max out your credit card, start making payments immediately before its on the statement so your statement balance doesn't hit at like 3k and you lose 20 points that month. And a rolling balance will charge you interest. 
Though if you have multiple credit lines, this is less of an issue. 

 

10 hours ago, Caroline said:

Yeah. Welcome to the club.

 

Not because debt alone, I mean yeah debt is bad and I don't want to be in debt, the true scam in my country is interest rates, they're OBSCENE to say the least, think up to 5 digits obscene, yeah, there are cards with up to 39000% interest, that's the catch only visible in the microscopic text for ants on public advertising, or hidden deep into the contract NOBODY reads prior to signing.

 

I get the card issuer has to put up those rates because, well, the country is broke and rampant inflation is a constant, but it gets worse, the scam is ginormous, they get 39000% BUT get this: if you get into a term deposit you only get 1.5% a year...

 

Pretend I borrow $100.000 in bananacoin because I need to buy... a bag of salt, and want to repay it over 12 months (I'm a moron), I'd have to pay back $279.155,50 EVERY MONTH FOR A YEAR, meaning at the end of the year the state gets $3.349.866,00 in exchange for the $100.000 I just borrowed from it.

 

It wouldn't make sense anywhere in the world, but that's how it is, and that's why the US has spaceships and we have mud huts and malaria, in a nutshell.

It's a death trap BUT at the same time it's pretty much free money for some people because they don't repay it back, ever, and they don't get $100k, they get billions and billions (trump.gif) -which would be a couple thousand dollars- over time, and flee the country. Boom, no more debt.

 

But yeah if I ever escape this asylum I wouldn't get a credit card either, I just think if I can't afford something with the money I have now, I simply don't buy it, not the end of the world.

You are not charged interest(though it can accrue) until you don't pay off the card. and the APY/APR is told to you up front in bold letters.

[porina]

2 minutes ago, starsmine said:

Its about credit utilization.

I edited that in to my reply, presumably while you were writing this one. Agree it is a closely related factor, but technically not the same thing.

[dcgreen2k]

I'm 24 and I got my first credit card earlier this year. I mainly got it so that I could build credit history for the future and have extra financial security, as I've heard it's generally easier to dispute credit card transactions compared to debit card.

 

I use it exactly like a debit card: If I buy something, I immediately pay it off, and if I can't afford it then I don't buy it. Simple. Just pay for things as I did before and let the rewards accumulate. I only have one credit card and don't plan on getting any more.

 

The only time I've strayed from that was when an unexpectedly large number of bills hit at once, plus an emergency surgery on top of that, draining a significant portion of my funds. I was able to use my credit card as a safety net, but only after I had done some careful budgeting and determined I'd be able to pay it off within a month.

 

A credit card definitely isn't for everyone though. My father was in severe credit card debt for over half his life due to poor self-control.

 

To sum it all up, no it's not weird that you don't want a credit card. But having a credit card doesn't mean you have to be in debt - it's all about being smart with your finances and having self-control.

[wasab]

3 hours ago, dcgreen2k said:

 I was able to use my credit card as a safety net

nonono. A credit card should never be a safety net. Personal finance 101, your emergency fund that covers at least 6 months of your monthly expenses, is your safety net. it boggles my mind how over 60% of Americans cant come up with a $1,000 to cover an unexpected emergency expense and have to rely on a credit card for it. I personally have a war chest that can pay my rent and bills for a whole year should I unexpectedly lose a job or some other emergency. This is very essential. 

 

Pro tip, keep your emergency fund in a ultrashort bound etf. You can park it in a high yield savings account too but short bound fund pay 5%+ interest compare to high yield currently at 4% or less while adding minimum per unit risk vs expected returns. It can offset inflation while having near zero volatility and that is good enough. 

[Zodiark1593]

On 6/14/2025 at 3:57 AM, porina said:

From a simple "paying for things" perspective a debit card does the same job, so credit cards are not a necessity in that sense. I have 3, not because I need 3 now but they're historic and I never got around to cancelling any of them since there is no cost to me having them. I never buy something I can't afford.

 

In the UK, when buying goods there are additional consumer protections if you pay by credit card you don't get with a debit card. If conditions are met the card provider is jointly liable with the seller, so you have more chance of getting your money back if anything goes wrong.

 

Cheques in the UK are pretty much dead. There might be obscure cases for business use, but even then bank transfers have largely taken over.

 

You gain credit score by being on time with payments. It doesn't have to be fully paid off ever. They actually prefer if you don't so they can earn the sweet interest, as long as you continue to make at least the minimum payment on time.

Don't need to be carrying a balance and paying interest to have a good credit score. I pay in full every month, and my score is at about 800. 

[dcgreen2k]

1 hour ago, wasab said:

A credit card should never be a safety net. Personal finance 101, your emergency fund that covers at least 6 months of your monthly expenses, is your safety net. 

Ideally yes, you should have an emergency fund for things like that. I'm absolutely not saying you should rely on a credit card as a safety net, that's a very dumb idea. However, life is rarely forgiving with the things it can send your way (disability, medical expenses, unsupportive family, my gf having her life savings stolen by her parents, etc.), and I did what I had to do to make ends meet.

 

I've spent the last several years clawing my way out of the situation my financially illiterate parents have put me into. My gf and I do everything we can to lighten the burden, but having shitty family in this economy, at this young age, means we're effectively starting from scratch. We both have jobs in tech, are in grad school, use coupons religiously, make our food at home, I paid for my car all upfront and do every repair myself, and I fix computer parts on the side. Hell, I even fished my own PC out of a trash pile. We are not irresponsible with our money. 

 

The fact that you have enough money saved to cover at least a year of expenses means you're doing the right thing. I applaud you for that.

[porina]

1 minute ago, Zodiark1593 said:

Don't need to be carrying a balance and paying interest to have a good credit score. I pay in full every month, and my score is at about 800. 

Different credit rating agencies may have different scales. To clarify, what I was saying was only you had to be on time with the minimum payment to not adversely affect your rating.  If you don't pay enough, or pay late, that's a negative. My comment after that wasn't about credit rating, just simple business for the card providers. They'll happily take your interest providing you meet the minimum payments on time.

[wasab]

2 hours ago, dcgreen2k said:

Ideally yes, you should have an emergency fund for things like that. I'm absolutely not saying you should rely on a credit card as a safety net, that's a very dumb idea. However, life is rarely forgiving with the things it can send your way (disability, medical expenses, unsupportive family, my gf having her life savings stolen by her parents, etc.), and I did what I had to do to make ends meet.

 

I've spent the last several years clawing my way out of the situation my financially illiterate parents have put me into. My gf and I do everything we can to lighten the burden, but having shitty family in this economy, at this young age, means we're effectively starting from scratch. We both have jobs in tech, are in grad school, use coupons religiously, make our food at home, I paid for my car all upfront and do every repair myself, and I fix computer parts on the side. Hell, I even fished my own PC out of a trash pile. We are not irresponsible with our money. 

I looked up your profile. You are still a student and 4 years younger than me. I can understand if you are not financially able to save up. I was also broke when I was your age but trust me, after you leave school and have your tech career in full swing, you can build it up very easily. Assuming you have no student debt and earning average tech salary, it can be as quick as within 1 year to save up a sum that can last 1 year worth of rent payment. You may have to live life like you're still broke for a year though. 

 

2 hours ago, porina said:

The fact that you have enough money saved to cover at least a year of expenses means you're doing the right thing. I applaud you for that.

Well, not owning a car but rely on transit, graduating without student loan, avoiding impregnating women out of wedlocks, eating healthy and exercising, living in a small 200 square feet studio where I can walk 15 minutes to get to my company office while earning a 6 figures salary do help quite a bit but that's besides the point. You don't have to do what I did. Just avoiding risky behaviors, finishing school without debt, and not rely on debt for a rainy day already is like 80% the requirement for financial stability. 

[MC.Morrado]

26 minutes ago, wasab said:

I looked up your profile. You are still a student and 4 years younger than me. I can understand if you are not financially able to save up. I was also broke when I was your age but trust me, after you leave school and have your tech career in full swing, you can build it up very easily. Assuming you have no student debt and earning average tech salary, it can be as quick as within 1 year to save up a sum that can last 1 year worth of rent payment. You may have to live life like you're still broke for a year though. 

 

Well, not owning a car but rely on transit, graduating without student loan, avoiding impregnating women out of wedlocks, eating healthy and exercising, living in a small 200 square feet studio where I can walk 15 minutes to get to my company office while earning a 6 figures salary do help quite a bit but that's besides the point. You don't have to do what I did. Just avoiding risky behaviors, finishing school without debt, and not rely on debt for a rainy day already is like 80% the requirement for financial stability. 

Having children outside of marriage is considered scandalous in the conservative Southern U.S (and for good reason). I grew up in a very christian and conservative family in the south, I was taught financial literacy by my grandmother who still judges me for purchases over $100.

 

Being a 20 year old bachelor still living with family and not able to afford an apartment means my personal overhead is quite low.

Edited June 15 by MC.Morrado

[TetraSky]

Having a credit card is good to build up a credit score for when you want to buy a house later on.

I have not paid a single cent in interest on my cards, because I always pay them all back within the month.

I use credit cards because it's literally free money with the "rewards".

Also because my bank used to charge monthly fees based on how many transactions I made during the month. While a credit card did not. So I could make 1000 different purchases without a care. Unlike my bank that would charge me every time I dared to use my own god damn money. I have since switched bank. But kept that habit. 

 

As long as you're financially responsible, a credit card is no more a burden than a debit card, while having a much bigger safety net on your money.

Fraud on a credit card is protected and you'll get your money back. Fraud at your bank means you lose everything and they give zero fks.

[Bitter]

On 6/14/2025 at 6:57 AM, Needfuldoer said:

Credit cards are perfectly fine as long as you're disciplined enough to treat them as cash and pay the balance in full every month.

This. 

 

You will absolutely need a good credit score for something at some point and the easiest way to do that is to have a credit card that you treat like a debit and pay in full each month. No or very low credit scores will lock you entirely out of some things and make other things cost more or require a co-signer. 

[Ha-Satan]

I do have a store-specific credit card (for a clothing chain) for the "building credit" reason but I don't use it much. Basically, I use it to buy clothes and that's it.

 

Like others have implied, if you want to build good credit, the best way is to buy something with your card and then wait for the statement date to come, then pay it off in full. That way the credit rating agencies see that you incurred some debt and then paid it off in full. It doesn't have to be a lot, even just a small purchase every so often on your credit card can keep your score high.

 

One finance author I occasionally follow suggests using a credit card for a single automated monthly payment (something like Netflix or another subscription) and then also set it up so that you autopay the credit card bill. That way you can basically keep accruing a small balance and paying it off and full without having to actively do anything.

[Bitter]

My singular card is an Amazon rewards card so I accrue points there then spend them to buy stuff I need or want. I used that to accrue points and got a new graphics card and some tools I'd have otherwise maybe not bought. It's not free money but it feels like it.