Hi I’m Reasons Money, oh wait… that’s Bizarro!    

I know, my title doesn’t make sense on the surface, but hear me out!    

It’s true, my credit cards helped me get out of debt quicker than if I hadn’t used them!    

First, let me set the background.  For the last 12 years, I’ve only owned reward credit cards (Sony,Upromise,  GM, Citi, Schwab, etc).    

Secondly, I almost never (hard to believe huh) carried credit card debt longer than a month.  I like to pay my balance in full each month!  The only time that I didn’t pay my credit card balance in full was when I bought a computer with a best buy card that had a 0% interest deal (and even with this card I paid it off early).    

I only own reward credit cards, and usually ones with pretty decent paybacks percentages!    

So how did (and does) that help me pay off my debt any quicker, you might ask? 

Well, first I get a discount on my purchases, typically anywhere from 2 to 5%!  If you pay with cash, you will incur that additional cost!  This is better than I did in the stock market last year! (Laughing, but really crying inside…).  This alone make the reward cards a great deal!    

You might not think this make a big difference but it does!  Instead of saving that money, we used it to help augment our Christmas presents!  We have also used it to rewards ourselves for being so frugally minded.  Yes, purchasing goods with credit cards is frugal (there, I said it!)    

The amounts saved via reward credit cards is like a forced savings plan.

Now, I’m not really Bizarro, and I know that in many ways having Credit Cards for some is like giving a beer to a recovering alcoholic.  But if you have the displine or if you create a budget to control your debt, Reward Credit Cards could be used for good instead of evil (another corny superhero cartoon reference).    

Credit card are a lot like guns!  Guns don’t kill people, people kill people, same with credit cards!  Creadit cards on’t get you in debt!  People get themselved in debt!   

I know what I typed runs against the grains of popular opinions out there!      

What do you tkink?    

-D 

One Caveat:  If you are married, your spouse must be frugal and on-board with paying the credit card in full each month for this to work!!!  My wife is and it has worked great!