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We have not paid any interest in 18 years with two exceptions. Both were building houses, which resulted in a $165K gain from the first house. The second house cost me $180K and it is currently worth about 300-315K. Those gains were-are tax free and the interest paid was a part of the cost of the house before the gain. No income tax on the gain, either state or Federal and no FICA or Medicaid since it was a cap gain versus income.
Credit is not the problem. The problem is paying interest, or trading in tomorrow for today. No house or car payments now in those 18 years. Between building salvage cars and building my own house, we have made no house or car payments in those 18 years.
It takes a lot of self control to not go out and buy stuff when you can "afford it", but once you get out of that trap then using a card for rewards or cash back is great, but the key is self control and not paying any interest, unless it is a purchase with truly a potential gain involved.
regards
Mech
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