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I'm fortunate in that I've learned a lot of important lessons from my parents. My dad has several credit cards, each with thousands of dollars worth of credit limit. Why? Because he always makes his payments on time and in full. It's not really a reward--they're just trying to get him to spend more money, which he will never do. He won't buy something if he can't pay it off on time and in full. Sure, he'll charge up the credit cards all he wants, but he always has enough in the savings account to pay it off.
My mother, on the other hand, cannot seem to grasp how credit and credit cards function, which is somewhat understandable as she is seriously technologically retarded. The woman is resistant to technology of any kind, and thus the modern system of credit is entirely beyond her. She has gotten my family into debt several times--the last time for about $10,000 on a line of credit from the bank that my father hadn't approved. As the account was in his name as well, he was able to get the majority of it cancelled since it was the bank's fault for not checking with him. He has had to pay back about $15,000 in debt that my mother has incurred over the years. Needless to say she is no longer allowed to use credit cards and has limited access to the family debit card.
Thus I have no desire to get a credit card except perhaps for emergencies. I will probably end up getting a card this spring as I plan on using it when I go abroad this summer in tandem with my debit card. My parents will pay the bill on the credit card as a graduation gift. But I probably will only use it for the trip expenses and then chop it up--I won't be able to afford it afterwards. It really isn't worth the cost.
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If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau
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