My wife too is a luddite. Doesn't even own a credit card. She's so retro that when she writes out checks, she uses roman numerals.
No credit card becomes a problem when she wants to rent a car. She then has to use my card... Doh! Not so dumb after all.
A few other comments. TDiNozzo, I just noticed my CT auto registration renewal included an option to renew online using a credit card. Worked great. Perhaps they will expand to boat renewals too.
I think credit cards are the way to go if you pay the balance automatically each month. If you don't, cards are a disaster for your finances.
Did you know the Treasury is considering eliminating the $1 bill and replacing it with a $1 coin? The paper doesn't last long enough and it is expensive to keep replacing the bills.
I once had my Visa card stolen (I probably accidentally left it at a restaurant without realizing). The next day I got a call from Visa asking if I had purchased furniture in New Jersey. When I said no, they invalidated my card, sent me a new one, and wiped out all of the fraudulent charges. I was impressed at how quickly they picked up on the fraud and how customer focused they were in fixing the problem without the slightest hassle.
My only argument against credit cards is that they raise the price of goods by charging the merchant when customers use them. When they give rebates to cardholders, that are borne by the merchant, it's a form of extortion.
I also think credit cards are the safest way to dole out your money. Not much risk of loss. Cash can get stolen, checks have lots of personal info on them past the routing and account numbers. Often merchants write drivers license #, phone #, addresses, etc on the checks.
