not haveing a credit card is not a good move IMHO. Unless you are a complete dumbass with no responsibility, get it, use it, and pay it off on time. Sooner or later, you may need credit for something. It takes a LONG time to build it- and if you dont have a history, you may not be able to get it if you ever actually NEED it, or are going to pay out the ass for it even if you can. The “I dont have it because I dont need it” approach is very shortsighted.
I pulled the same shit for as long as I could, luckily I outgrew that philosophy in a hurry, and it helped BIG tme in the long term. Sooner or later, you will probably have no choice in the matter… better to have a history than not at that point. I have a particular friend who at almost 23 and never having a credit card, had been turned down by just about everyone when he tried to get one. Nothing negative, just no history! lucky for him, he didnt actually need it at the time, just wanted to build. Eventually, he found a company to help him build it- but if he had REALLY needed it, he would have been fucked on that one.
You need to learn to play the game. Jump from company to company when you find better rates, surge your credit line and pay it off quickly over a few months on purpose, roll balances at 0%, threaten to leave unless they raise the limits, etc… though you need the money and/or available credit to play that game first. As long as you pay your bills on time, everyone is happy. Keep the good cards with good rates, ditch the asshole companies and crap cards as soon as you find something better. Household, Capitol 1, Orchard… they are the worst companies I have dealt with, though the easiest to get started with. The best companies I deal with are Chase, Bank Of America, and American Express… Discover isnt bad either. By playing the game, within a few years you can build some serious credit and have quite a bit of available capital. From the age of 18 to 22, I multiplied my available credit over 200 fold, and brought my average APR to <9.00%, with quite a few rewards as well… they virtually pay for themselves, even when I have a spike in extended credit. You learn how to roll with credit very quickly when running a business however, so I would not expect the same results I have had in most cases.
BE RESPONSIBLE. Know your limit. If you are a “spending addict” or “extreme impulse buyer”, dont even go there with big credit… just get a small card, say 1 grand, and use it for all your small purchases and pay it back every month. Credit will put you over your head quicker than you can imagine.