There’s nothing wrong with credit cards as long as you carry a zero balance.
For example, I have all my “old folks” using them for all tax deductible expenses. And, for everything, in general. Since I do their bills, I pay them in full and the end of every month. It captures all the data needed for their taxes and prevents anyone from defrauding them, stealing from them, or doing other bad things (like forgetting to give me the phone bill).
Note: It’s really easy to have the phone company charge their credit card for the phone bill. I may miss the bill and a chance to check that their phone line isn’t being abused by a visitor (It happened!), but they don’t get the phone service cut off for non-pay, and I don’t have to be Simon Legree about the mail.
In my own case, I use the same strategy as a budgeting device. One credit card for techie hardware / software / service stuff. One for books from Amazon. With my CFO’s (Frau Reinke) rare blessing, I use the cards as a free accounting service to ensure that I spend ENOUGH on books and technology. (Yes, that can be a problem!)
Note: One can actually “prepay” a credit card with a monthly automatic payment from a checking account and it will sit there waiting for the offsetting charge. So, for example, I pay my tech visa account XXX$ per month. That’s my budgeted amount. And I buy tools with that card. If you leave a positive balance on the card, eventually the credit card company will send you a check. (Screwing up my system. And leading the CFO to ask about cutting the budget. She’s not like the government. You don’t use, you don’t just lose it; you’ve LOST it forever!)
Prevents a lot of paperwork and arguments.
FWIW YMMV FAIWWYPFI
Reinke Faces Life 