Why Today’s World Requires You To Have a Credit Card

There are some young people who have decided that they’re not going to get a credit card even though they have come of age to do so. That’s because they’ve seen the debt problems that their parents and older siblings get into with their credit cards. These people figure that avoiding the use of credit cards altogether will help them avoid these problems. However, credit cards are a necessity in today’s world and not having one can create problems of its own. The way that we function in society today, it’s really difficult to get through daily adult life without a credit card. There are four major reasons that this is true

1.        
   Increase in credit-only locations. There are more and more places that are leaning towards becoming credit-only locations. For example, there are many college campuses on which the student union or cafeteria is now cash-free. Many let students simply pay with their student ID cards but this indicates a trend in which the credit card is going to be a requirement for payment in some areas.
2. Services requiring a credit card are common. Even more prevalent than no-cash destinations are places that require a credit card for services to be provided (even if you’re ultimately going to pay with cash). For example, when you rent a car it is necessary to provide a credit card that can be charged in the event that you damage or fail to return the car. Likewise, a credit card is required for renting out a hotel room even if you’re going to pay the final bill with cash.
3. Risk of emergencies necessitates the credit card. Let’s face it; the world is a scary place. You need to have a credit card in case an emergency arises that requires you to spend money that you don’t have on hand. For example, let’s say that your car breaks down on a highway. Fifty years ago, you might’ve gotten help from a passerby but today’s world requires that you deal with this on your own. You need a credit card to pay the tow truck company if you don’t have the cash to do so.
4. Importance of credit history in society. Your credit report is important to a number of different people. If you want to be able to rent an apartment, you need to show that you’ve established good credit. If you want to get a loan for a new car so you don’t have to drive the clunker that you can afford with cash, you need to have a credit history. The reality of finances in today’s world is such that you’re not going to be able to move forward in life without establishing some type of credit.

It’s true that there are problems that you can get into if you’re not careful with the use of credit cards. However, the solution isn’t to avoid them altogether because that creates a set of problems as well. Instead, get a single credit card and use it responsibly so that you can derive the benefits of the card without the drawbacks.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 30th, 2008 at 7:15 am and is filed under Credit Card News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.