Re: The problem with this is spending discipline
I was brought up with pocket money, and what I didn't have in my pocket, I couldn't spend.
That carried over to when I started earning and, apart from 2 occassions, where I was travelling and didn't get the credit card balance paid off in full in time, I have never paid interest on my credit card - in fact, between 2003 and 2008 the card had a balance of +42UKP on it, because I overpaid and then didn't use the card for a couple of years. Unfortunately, they don't pay interest back, if you are in credit.
Now, the credit card I have in Germany is directly linked to my bank account and is always paid off 100% at the end of the month, if I don't have the funds to cover the balance, then it goes on my overdraught. That is the way credit card work over here, for the most part.
But the discipline I learnt as a child means that I don't spend money that I don't have. I don't pay for anything without first calculating, whether I can afford it and that I won't slip into the red at the end of the month.
The only thing I have paid for on credit is the house.
My wife grew up the same way and her children have also learnt the same lesson, so they are very careful in what they pay out and make sure that they never go overdrawn and always have a small reserve for emergencies.
I feel that this lesson is being missed out on by an ever larger part of the population.