Renting Money
There is nothing about a credit card, itself, to be afraid and/or ashamed of; you simply need to see it for what it is: renting money.
A credit card is NOT some sort of non-profit organization.
If you never need to use it, it costs you nothing.
However, should the need arise, you don’t borrow, say, $100 and only have $100 to pay back, unless you replace it right away.
Carry a balance for more than a month, and you’ll be paying interest on it–that is, a set percentage of the amount borrowed.
In other words, you are renting money.
This comes in handy for when you want to borrow an amount of money but will only be able to pay part (or even none) of it back for awhile.
Let’s say you need to borrow $2500 for something you want or need right away.
As long as you stay within your credit line (not borrowing more than you’re able to borrow, known as maxing out your credit card), you can rent the $2500 indefinitely, paying only that “rent” known as interest.
Or, you can pay off some of it whenever you can, keeping in mind that the less you owe the lower the rent will be.
Ideally, the best thing to do is to get it paid off a.s.a.p., of course, but that isn’t always possible–and, at times, isn’t always the best way to go for the simple reason that you need to continue to have cash-on-hand at some particular time.
One “perk” that credit card companies offer to at least some of their renters is the chance to get partial rebates when purchasing select items/services by card. This option can be purchased via a nominal annual or one-time fee and is something that would be to your advantage to have should you regularly patronize the kinds of services offered.
If you don’t want to rent money–and can afford to go the cash & carry route–but enjoy the convenience of plastic, one way to go would be the debit card, but more on that elsewhere.