as for my credit card habits.
only a fool avoid debt. Debt is something to be managed carefully because it can work just as well in your favor as it can against you. Sure some people are not smart enough to manage credit, but that’s ok - get somebody smart to help you.
I roll probably 70% of what I make in a year through my credit cards. By “roll” I mean that I buy everything I possibly can on the highest reward card for the type of purchase. The one exception is that I use cash when dining out with friends some of the time because it’s just rude and annoying to split a $60 bunch among friends on 6 cards.
Do I carry a balance? Yes. I have a large card maxed out with the money sitting in my emigrant direct account making 4.75% currently. I pay the minimum every month (but not from the emigrant account) and when my 16 months of interest free are up I’ll pay if off. (total cost to me = $0)
The end result of all of this is a bunch of free money every year for almost no effort.
I also build my credit and have a much leaner checking account so most of my money is always making me money. At the same time I have a much larger cash reserve then I would have had available within 2 business days.
I have a great credit score despite the money sitting on cards and I never pay any interest.