10 Tips for Living Credit Card Free

None of us likes to be out on the road and have to pay car repairs or incur unexpected expenses. Situations like those are some of the reasons credit cards became so popular. However, some where along the way, credit cards became some sort of magic wand to wave, not only at any problem, but to acquire any item or service that strikes our fancy.

Millions of Americans have run up huge credit card debts with all the annual fees, late fees, interest rate hikes and all the other poison pills that must be swallowed in the name of convenience. After all, the U.S. government has run up huge amounts of deficit spending, so why should we not operate the same way? Do I really need to answer that question? If the developments of the last year do not make the answer quite clear, go back to reading about the latest on Britney Spears' most recent comeback.

So, you ask, how does a person live a semi-normal life without the almighty credit card? Here are ten suggestions for living credit card free:

1. Debit Cards

When we made our decision to go credit card free, we already had a debit card. A bank issued debit card backed by Visa or Mastercard is accepted at any place that accepts Visa or Mastercard credit cards. Because the charge shows up on your bank account almost instantly, you are limited to the amount in the account pretty much. While that may sound like an inconvenience, you are not paying interest on your purchase, unlike credit cards. Better yet, you are not buying more than you can afford or impulse items if you know it will cause a bounce charge by the bank if you do.

2. Don't Throw Items Away That You Can Sell

Newspapers, aluminum cans, copper scrap, and steel scrap are just a few things that can put a little extra cash in your pocket. Not a lot mind you, but a few dollars here and there can be made by selling scrap metal to scrap yards. That old wheel barrow, metal lawn chair or rusted metal storage building could bring decent money by selling them to a scrap yard for recycling. Newspapers don't bring much, 2 or 3 cents a pound in this area, but at .02c a load of papers weighing 200 pounds would bring $4. It's not a lot more trouble to recycle them than throw them in the trash. I have a special bin in the garage to load recyclable papers in. I've probably made more than $100 this year by recycling with metal items included.

3. Pay Any bills That Have A Late Fee On Time

The gas company, electric company, water and sewage, and Directv are all bills we have monthly that have late fees averaging around $5 a month. If we're late on three of these bills a month on average, that would be $15 a month, or $180 a year. save this money and you'll have more cash ansd won't miss your credit cards.

4. Direct Deposit Bank Accounts

Since we both converted to direct deposits of our checks, we have found that we don't keep out as much cash for small expenses as we did, putting more money in our bank account. We save gasoline by not having to make a special trip to the bank to deposit a paper check. If I was off on a Friday, I used to have to go to my workplace and pick up my check or they would put it in the mail. It usually worked out that the paper check would arrive on Saturday, after the banks had closed. There were times we either had to "race a check to the bank" on Monday or pay a fee to have the check cashed at a grocery store or Wal-Mart that day. We have saved a few returned check fees by having direct deposit and by choosing a bank that posts deposits the same day. At my old bank, I once had three checks bounce due to a deposit made on a Friday not posting until the following Tuesday due to a Monday Holiday. At $33-40 a shot, that adds up in a hurry. Like the old song said, you better shop around, though. I would recommend checking out 3-4 different banks. By doing so, I got a free account with free checks that draws a little interest. Switching to this account last Feb. has saved us quite a bit of $.

5.Take Care Of Business

This was what the TCB on Elvis' pendant stood for. What I mean by this is, if you are the least bit handy, you can fix many items with a slight defect, rather than throwing the item away and buying a new one. Little things like keeping your tires properly inflated can make the tires last much longer and save on gas in the short term. And when you do need new tires, get the dealer to give you your old tires back. If there is any tread left, a used tire place will pay a few bucks for it or you can sell it in a yard sale for $5 or so. A lot of old furniture items can be repaired and reused or sold. Going credit card free can be fun if you like doing little DIY projects.

6. Barter/Trade When Possible

Last summer when our old water line was being replaced for our washing machine, the repairman mentioned liking a work bench I had in my garage and wishing he had something like it. I didn't need the bench really since I had a replacement for it, so i offered it to the man in exchange for knocking some money off the bill. After some negotiations, we settled on a $35 reduction on the bill. Thus, I, in effect sold a work bench I paid $10 or so for and really didn't need, for $35 off the bill, a nice little profit, and one more reason not to miss our credit cards. Living credit card free has more benefits than Mastercard in my book. If there is a CD I want, I always check the used rack at Hastings first. At many stores that sell CDs such as Hastings, you can trade in old CDs for either cash or store credit. You get more if you take the store credit option. I traded in a few unwanted Cds for $17 and had $11 store credit after making my purchase.

7. Find A 2nd Income

For a year, politicians have been denying that we were in a recession. well, guess what the reports said on Dec. 1, 2008? Surprise, surprise, we are in a recession and have been for a year. In such a tight economy with things possibly getting worse before they get better, it would be a good idea, in my opinion, for most of us to have a 2nd income of some kind. Who knows? If you start out part time, if your job gets outsourced to Mexico, you might even be able to make a go of it full time. Writing is my 2nd income. Things are starting to pick up with your help. Read on!

8. Cut Waste

Politicians love to talk about this subject when they're not getting $400 haircuts and flying in private planes, but for most of us, cutting waste can be profitable. I'm talking about leaving lights on in empty rooms, throwing away usable items. If everyone cut out this sort of thing, electric rates would either go down, or at least not increase as quickly, saving money on our monthly bills. On your income tax, claim all your exemptions, including yourself. That way, you'll keep more of your money every week. Yes, you will receive a smaller tax refund the next year, but why give government bureaucrats more of your money to play with all year? They don't pay you interest, you know. You could be taking that money and investing it and if you get any return at all, it beats getting only the principle back at the end of the year.

9. Check Clearance Items, Bargain Bins And Close Outs

If there is a seasonal item you know you're going to use later and it's clearanced, if you can afford it and it fills a future need, go ahead and buy it. Lawnmowers, weedeaters and accessories, etc are usually clearanced at stores such as Lowes in the late summer to late fall. I bought a nice self-propelled lawnmower a couple of years ago at half price. It tightened up our budget a little at the time, but I needed the mower and it saved us a couple of hundred dollars later. If you make a habit of that when you have the money, it will save you money down the line when you don't have to pay full price. Going credit card free doesn't have to be painful.

10. Plan Trips And Use Preventative Maintenance

Yes, gas prices no longer require signing away the rights to your first born child. Yes, gas pains now can be cured with a rolaids. However, we are only one hurricane, one skirmish or one Emir's case of hemorrhoids from paying $3-4 a gallon for gasoline. The Oil Cartel can be very creative when it comes to gouging prices. From not enough refineries to too mahy refineries to a tropical storm, any excuse can and will be used to hike the price of oil back up at some point. We can slow down or reduce the gas pains by planning our trips, thus reducing consumption. While the U.S. has around 3% of the oil reserves, we consume 25% and there is no way to reduce that gap by drilling alone. Reducing consumption is a must. We can also save a few cents by buying gas at Wal-Mart stores that offer gasoline. Just buy a gift card and use it to fill up and save 3 cents a gallon. It doesn't sound like much, but if you drive 15,000 miles yearly and get 20 miles per gallon, it saves $22.50 a year. Enough savings like that and the others mentioned above will add up to more cash in your pocket and bank account. And that makes for a better chance of living a credit card free life.

I must admit that it took a financial crisis for us to go credit card free, but who can tell you better the evils of excessive drinking, a lifetime tee-totaler or a reformed alcoholic? While it took a crisis for us to go credit card free, we don't miss our credit cards in the least. We especially don't miss the monthly statements showing interest rate hikes. Those low introductory rates don't last and make even one payment late and see what happens. Did you know that you can be late just once on one card and all of your credit cards can raise your interest rate? Give that some thought when considering whether to go credit card free.