3 reasons to put away those credit cards for good

Credit cards can be a valuable tool, but if not used properly, they can become a huge problem. Sometimes, you’re better off pretending that card doesn’t exist. Here are 3 reasons to leave that credit card at home.

They make budgeting more of a hassle

Cold, hard cash. It’s something we all enjoy having a handful of. When you’ve got cash in hand, it makes it really easy to see how much you have and how much you can spend. All of my monthly bills are set up to auto-draft, and for everything else, I use cash. When you’re using a credit card, it’s so easy to lose track of your budget and overspend. You can’t do that with cash.

They can cause debt

If you can be disciplined enough to pay off every cent you charge, each month, then a credit card can be a valuable tool. Most people aren’t that disciplined. For most, that credit card will only lead to debt. Once debt gets on top of you, it’s difficult to find your way out. If you’re using cash, you’ll stay out of debt and be able to slowly crawl out from underneath any debt you’ve already acquired.

Less chance for fraud

I’ve had fraudulent charges on my account a couple of times. Nobody has ever stolen cash from me. You of course can be robbed, but at least with cash a criminal has less opportunities. By using your credit card, cyber thieves have many more chances to capture your personal information and rob you blind.