"Oh, you've been preapproved for a credit card. Would you like me to fix that up now for you?"
Uh... no thank you.
Credit cards, despite my best desire to be disciplined and careful, end in disaster for me. Not that I've been put in desperate circumstances like some who manage to rack up $25 000 or something. But psychologically, it somehow seems to become like a second form of income. Don't have enough money in the bank? Just charge it.
Then there are the monthly fees. The last time we had a credit card (quite a few years ago now), we usually had a grand two days between the bill arriving and requiring payment before the interest-free period expired. Needless to say, we began to receive interest charges.
Credit cards work for people who are extremely self-disciplined, able to calculate risks on the spot at a greater speed, and able to pay off bills the instant they arrive. For myself, I'm not completely undisciplined, but I still benefit from having some external limits. A Debit card only allows you to spend as much as you have, and doesn't fool you into thinking that you've just been given a lovely present of $30 000 or more.
And if the money isn't there? Just don't buy it. I probably don't need it anyway.
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