A reader writes:
I went the exact opposite tack in my early years: Can I live without cash? If I couldn't purchase something with a check or credit card, then I didn't need it that bad. Mostly that ruled out vending machines (no cokes, snacks or candy, which was good for my waistline) and impulse purchases.
Checks were common and accepted everywhere, even at art festivals (using one nowadays seems odd). Credit cards were less common; you almost had to have a card for each individual vendor, be it gas station or department store, so your wallet was HUGE.
What makes my experience different than many others is that I paid off the credit cards (Visa, gas cards, revolvers – whatever) in full every month. That "requirement" was factored into the decision to pull out the credit card. Although it was a challenge, I honestly can't think of a time when I carried a balance on my credit cards. Not as I worked my way through college or just after graduation when I lived paycheck to paycheck and had to mail the payments on a just-in-time basis or drop them off at the company to get a couple of extra days when needed. Not when I bought my first house in Houston after its housing bust in the '80s or when I relocated four times for my job.
Thirty years later, while I have major credit cards in every flavor (Discover, VISA, MC, AMEX), I don't have an ATM card or debit card (I don't like the idea of a vendor reaching into my account). Although I definitely carry cash now, I still don't use it often, so the bank trips are infrequent. I have healthy savings and my only debt is a home mortgage (which is not underwater). I have all I need and most things I want. All this thanks to full employment, a conservative outlook on financial risk (I didn't mortgage my houses to the hilt or take out any capital via refi), the good fortune of good health, and lots of hard work and luck along the way.So I think this is just a matter of self discipline, whether you are opting out of the credit card or cash worlds, because we live in an immediate gratification culture. I grew up with five siblings, and we weren't wealthy nor exceptionally poor. We all have respect for financial responsibility (no foreclosures or bankruptcies in the clan). I know money was tight but we didn't lack for basics (food, clothing, shelter, health care, education) and we didn't miss out on anything of import. I never recall being told "we can't afford it"; instead Mom always said, "you don't need it." She was right, and I'm not sure that lesson is taught any longer.
The Dish 