Just read this article in the NYTimes: Economy Fitful, Americans Start to Pay as they Go. The URL is:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/05/business/05spend .html?em&ex=1202360400&en=88ddcd6543c43e40&ei=5087 %0A

Do you relate? I certainly do - my husband and I have pretty much given up using our cards. It's just too easy to exceed our budget each month otherwise. Anyone else read this article? Do you also see yourself as part of a national trend?

I have given over my credit cards to my husband. Yes, I felt like I was participating in an episode straight out of " I Love Lucy," but it has really made the difference. If there is a real emergency, I do have my ATM and can charge it, then we move money around. But while we are paying off SICK amounts of debt, this is our severe, but needed course of action.
I still feel like Lucille Ball.

We have completely stopped using our credit cards. If we don't have cash to pay for it, we'll have to budget for it and just not get it. It makes me sick to pay the credit card bill every month when we can't even remember what we bought. The instant gratification was nice but that feeling is completely gone when the bill comes.

I know giving up credit cards helps with the budget, but we pay ours off in full each month (knock on wood) and so, even though we're paying of huge non-credit-card debts, the perks from using the card work for us. For example, everything -- gas, household expenses, groceries, reoccuring charges like the cell phone bill, daycare fees -- goes on this one card that gives us frequent flyer miles, which we then use regularly to visit family, which saves us a bundle in the long run... though I do have a heart attack when I open that particular bill each month. OMG. Daycare fees.

I can't give the cards to my husband. He gave his cards to me to try to limit his spending!

Yes! We are trying so hard to only use our cards for emergency's to stay within budget! I want to try and stay home as long as possible and keep plugging away at my online business....so every penny counts!!

LOL, Lylah, I'd have to take away DH's too because he's the shopper in this family.

We've tried it both ways and, in the end, paying them off each month works for us. I used to use a frequent flier card, too, but the fees where outrageous after a while and I couldn't get them to drop them so I changed cards. Yeah, the Target card? Not so good! I kept getting those 10% off coupons then going and spending even more at Target. That was so wrong! Now I'm down to the LL Bean card for several reasons. We do get credit toward Bean purchases, which is always good, but there aren't a ton of things I need from there on a regular basis so no reason to spend the coupons. Plus I get free shipping all year and free monogramming. This gal can't pass up monogramming!

I must say, though, if I can just pay for it outright with cash or debit then I prefer to do that but it doesn't always work that way since we've got several bank accounts and I'm not always sure what is where. So out comes the card and I pay it off when the bill comes in.

I've always been scared to death of credit cards. My mom raised 2 kids on her own. Right after her and my dad got divorced, her credit was in shambles, and it was because of all the credit cards they had together. I just got my first credit card last year and it was an old navy card. I think I use it once every 2-3 months just to catch up with kiddo's growth spurts (old navy is the BEST place for little boy clothes by the way). Other than that we use our checking/ATM card and if we don't have the money in the account, we just go without.

I talk about this issue a lot on my personal finance blog ( http://timetobudget.com ). Using cash for daily purchases can keep you from overspending if you have a good budget in place. I recently wrote about how I use the cash envelope system on my blog. The Cash Envelope System.
My husband and I have not used credit cards for 2 years and it's amazing how you can make your money stretch when you don't have the option of using credit cards for "emergencies". I encourage everyone to get rid of the credit cards because they will only hold you back. Anyway, that's my two cents

It's amazing how much you realize that you can do without when you stop using credit cards. Cards make it so easy to buy.

I've been thinking about this since the link was posted. Both my husband and I have a cc that is used for almost everything: groceries, clothes, etc. We never carry a balance. Bills are paid electronically through the checking account and we each get a monthly infusion of cash for personal expenses: lunches out, entertainment, lattes, etc.

And while I'm sure that using a cc does encourage us to spend more, I'm not sure how that's different from using a debit card, or even checks. Yes, the debit/check comes out of your account right away, but if you're flush, you're not going to give it much thought. If you have to watch every penny, you'll be doing it with a cc as well. Cash definitely has that when it's gone, it's gone effect, but but the logistics of the envelope system as applied to our life and spending patterns escapes me.

And the cc is just soooooo easy! Esp with a preschooler in tow. Although, as the CFO of a household with 3 cc, checking, savings, and various retirement accounts, I could use a little simplification on the record keeping end.

Definitely something to think about.

hrm we have credit cards but what we actually use daily are the bank check/debit cards so the money comes out of the account. i rarely have or use cash! i am not sure if i would spend less since i tend to have the problem of 'if i have the cash i spend it' problem... where as if i have the plastic i actually think about it more and plan it out. i know, i am so backwards!

I'm trying to give them up as well. My family and I have gone from two income to just one and I'm trying to live within the new means. Giving up the credit is just one way to do it. I do the debit card too instead of the cash it works out better for me this way. We just refinanced our home and they told us we have great credit but the news just gave me the urge to splurge

I applaud everyone who can stick to a budget using cards! I guess I just find it too easy to forget about the numbers when I use cards. Whereas with cash...well, let's just say it's terrifying how quickly it disappears and there's something about physically seeing it dwindle that forces me to limit what I buy.

Malena - I'm with you. I have had to adjust to living on a greatly reduced income in the last couple of years. In our pre-baby days, wow, I didn't really have to budget very much. I just bought whatever groceries I wanted and just about every month I'd buy clothes for work and play (always full price - never thought about buying on sale). Nothing very extravagant, but fact was I didn't have to worry too much. Hmm. Those were the days!!

Like monawea, we use an envelope system and only spend the money in our envelopes each month. My feeling is that it really does "hurt" to use the cash. I hardly even look at the grocery total when I use my card. But when I have to fork over 70 bucks in cash....yikes. I hate that. We also have a small emergency fund so that we don't have to resort to paying with a credit card. I think we proved that we can't pay the card off each month, so it had to go.

I no longer use credit cards. They aren't a deal...they suck money out of you at every turn. It just doesn't pay.

I use cash. I will use a debit card for groceries and the like, but money for major purchases like furniture and cars, I keep in a money market account...and just write a check or use the debit card linked to it.

At the end of the month...no bills. No pain. No regrets.

Part of me would LOVE to get to a cash only system, but part of me also loves the freedom that comes with credit cards. My husband is currently disabled but in the state of limbo that exists between being on workmen's comp and actually disabled. So we are learning to live on just my salary and it is so hard. We're at a point where we can't stop using the card - not because we charge more than we can pay off (okay in january we did, but before that and this month we're doing good) but because if we switched to cash, we don't have enough cash to pay off last month's credit card and also pay this month's bills with cash.

And honestly, I've had a credit card since I was 15. My mom co-signed with me to teach me how to use it responsibly. My husband's mom did not do anything like that with him and he has a real hard time with using credit responsibly. And for a long time he was responsible for himself and that was it, he lived with his parents so there was no rent, he didn't have any other bills, he didn't even HAVE a checking or savings account, so he was using a cash only system, but he spent it all and had no clue where it all went.

Hey there Jenni! I have a similar situation, only I am the disabled one, waiting since '07 to receive SSDI.
I am fortunate that my husband has a job with good insurance, but we have had to spend a ridiculous amount of money on my health, creating unwanted debt, big time. This is why I handed over my cards. I shrugged my shoulders and zipped up my coat through this continual stormy economy.
I know we aren't the only family to feel the pain from our current administration, but this time it got up close and personal and kicked me in the you know where

I voted yesterday, so there! I have hopes for the groundswell of better things to come.

We haven't used credit cards for years. They are all paid up and closed. We use our debt card from our checking for everything. You can use it for reservations and what ever you need it for. We have some much more money. We don't inpulse shop. The kids have learned so much from this.

After 9/11 my husband didn't work for almost 2 years because of the job market on the east coast was so bad for his field. Because we didn't have the extra bills of credit cards. We made it with flying colors. It was tight and sometimes I didn't think we could do it but we did. Now a few years later. My savings is back to were it was before 9/11 and everything is great.