Some people can't handle credit cards (about 50% of us) and run up huge debts. Some people have problems with their debit cards as well. I was once in both categories but I am the type of person who learns from my mistakes. I never use credit cards, although my wife and I have one. Or rather she has one. I don't even know what it looks like.
I do have a debit card and it stays in my wallet except on Tuesdays. I use it to withdraw my weekly allowance from the ATM. The only other time I ever use it is to buy a tank of gas before i have the opportunity to get by the bank for my allowance. I just subtract the amount of the purchase from my withdrawal and I'm back on track.
A cashless society has it advantages but promoting fiscal responsibility isn't one of them. Using plastic to buy stuff with makes it easy to forget that the money supply is dwindling. Each week I decide what I need to spend money on: A tank of gas, a plant for the yard, a haircut, an oil change, a trip to visit my mother, or a project or want that I need to save up for. Sometimes it comes down to one need or another but not both. Paying cash brings home that reality while using plastic just postpones the inevitable: the piper will be paid or we will face dire consequences.
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