I recently asked a few of my personal finance bloggers to fill out a “Debt Profile” questionnaire. Below, I have organized the pf bloggers into groups, according to their responses to the “Debt Profile” questionnaire. (The questionaire consisted of VERY generalized questions about credit card use and borrowing habits. Each blogger included in the groups below is invited to write a post, clarifying their ideas about credit card use and borrowing money!) “Thanks!” to all of the pf bloggers who participated.

Group 1: The Rate-Conscience Borrowers

Personal Finance Bloggers who will borrow money to make major purchases, buy a home, purchase an automobile, or pay for college. Many in this group also use credit cards. They may or may not pay interest on their credit card purchases. Basically, they will borrow money if they can borrow it at a rate that is favorable.

Generation X Finance

Stop Buying Crap

It’s Your Money

My Money Blog

My Financial Awareness

My Financial Journey

Lazy Man and Money

Mapgirl’s Fiscal Challenge

The Finance Journey

Clever Dude

Money, Matter and Musings

The Sun’s Financial Diary

Poorer Than You

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Group 2: The Practical Borrowers

Personal Finance Bloggers who would borrow money to pay for a house our for college. Most use credit cards but pay off balances each month. (Some borrow money at zero percent using credit card balance transfers.) Many of these bloggers try to pay cash for other major purchases. These bloggers will use a credit card for day to day purchase, but they do not pay interest on their credit card purchases.

Money Smart Life

Five Cent Nickel

Consumerism Commentary

Blueprint For Financial Prosperity

One Big Mortar Board

The First Time Homeowner

Pro Bargain Hunter

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Group 3: The Housing Borrowers

Personal Finance Bloggers who would borrow money to purchase a home. A few of these bloggers might also borrow money to make another major purchase, but most would like to pay cash for all purchases. These bloggers may use a credit card, but they pay balances in full. Most use credit cards to earn cash back and bonuses.

Get Rich Slowly

Blunt Money

The Simple Dollar

Blogging Away Debt

Food Obsession

Mighty Bargain Hunter

The Digerati Life 

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Group 4: The Non-Borrowers

Personal Finance Bloggers who do not borrow money and do not use credit cards. These bloggers save money and pay cash for purchases. Many of these bloggers also hope to purchase (or perhaps have purchased) a home with cash. These bloggers may or may not have credit card accounts, but they do not use their credit cards.

Not Made Of Money

Getting Green

No Credit Needed

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I will have much more to say about these results at a later date. If you are a personal finance blogger and you would like to be added to a group, click the contact tab at the top of the page and mention “Debt Profile” in your message. If you are a pf blogger and you write a post about my findings, please let me know. Again, thanks to all who participated!

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Here’s my system for getting through life without using credit cards.

Cash

–I always have $200 cash on me.  I carry my cash in a money-clip.

Debit Card

–I always have a Debit Card on me.  I carry my Debit Card in my money-clip.  I wrap my cash around my Debit Card.

Checkbook

–I have a checkbook which I keep in my wallet.  I only write about 5 checks per month.  My checkbook usually stays in my glove-box.  If I have to write a check, I will tear a check from the book, fold the check, and put it in my money-clip.

Wallet

–I have a wallet.  I hate to keep it in my pocket, so it usually stays locked in my glove-box.

Credit Card

–I have a credit card that I never use.  It stays in the back slot of my wallet.

In the past 2 years, I’ve only made two purchases which required more than $200 in cash.  On those occasions, I withdrew the cash from the ATM, put the cash in my pocket, made my purchase, and went about my way.

Renting A Car or Reserving A Hotel

–I have rented a car AND reserved a hotel using my debit card.  (I know that some companies require reserving a car with a credit card.  So, if pressed, I could RESERVE the car with my credit card, but PAY the bill with cash.  So far, I have not had to deal with this situation.)  When I checkout or return the car, I pay my bill in cash or use my debit card.

Plane Ticket

–I’ve never flown, so I have no idea how this would work.

On-line Purchase

–I have a secondary checking account with a fixed amount of money.  This account has a debit card.  The account does not allow “over-drafts”.  I use this debit card associated with this account to make on-line purchases.  I’ve never had a problem using a debit card or getting a refund.  I’ve used a debit card to pay for items from Amazon, pay my hosting fees, and manage my satellite radio bill.

Bills

–I use free on-line bill-pay to pay all of my bills.  I’ve never had a problem.  In fact, my local doctor was impressed with the fact that I could use on-line bill-pay to pay my doctor bill.  I actually showed him how to setup an account with his bank!

As you can see, living without a credit card is pretty easy.  I’ve yet to find myself in a situation where I “had” to use a credit card.  I make sure that I keep enough cash “on hand” to meet most situations, but not so much that I’m overly concerned about losing it or having it stolen.  IF someone where to steal my wallet, they’d get a single credit card, my license, and about 10 checks.  If they were to rob me, they’d get about $200 and a debit card.  There are risks associated with every method of carrying money, but I feel pretty secure with the the technique that I use.  If I am travelling, I will, of course, take my wallet out of my glove-box and put it in my back-pocket.  (Wallets are SO 1985!)

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We live in a “ranch style” house. It has two bathrooms, a guest bathroom and then a small bathroom that connects to our bedroom. My wife (Mrs. NCN!) has decided that (after two years of saving money like crazy) that we need to SPEND a little and remodel our bathroom. We are going to paint, replace the toilet, put in a new vanity, change the door, the lighting fixtures, and replace an old window. We live in a house provided by my employer. My employer will cover the cost of some of the repairs, but we will be responsible for most of the work. So far, I’ve gotten rid of the old door. It was one of those pitiful 1970’s hollow-core doors and it’s been painted at least ten times. I’ve also removed the molding from around the old window, taken down the lighting fixtures, thrown out the old shower curtain (and rod), and removed everything else from the bathroom except for the toilet, the shower, and the old vanity. I’ll probably hire someone to do the plumbing and any electrical work, but I’ll handle the painting, drywall, tile work, and window replacement. (Do I actually KNOW how to do any of these things yet? Not really. One of the great lessons that I’ve learned over the past two years is that the only way to learn HOW to do something is to actually DO something!) I like having “projects” and this will be one of the biggest that I’ve tackled. I’ll update you as we go forward.

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I actually enjoy shopping for groceries. But I hate to spend money on groceries. Hmmm…

Here’s how I save money when shopping for groceries. (A note to my loyal readers. The ill-fated How Much Do I Use In A Year, as predicted by Five Cent Nickel, is dead in the water. After starting my new weight loss blog, the types of foods that we purchase has changed dramatically. I am actually embarrassed by what we WERE eating. Yikes!)

1. Create a Grocery “Price Book”. Take it with you when you go shopping and note the prices of the items that you regularly purchase. Since starting the new site and changing my eating habits, I’ve had to create a brand new “Price Book”.

2. Use the grocery price book to determine when to stock up on non-perishable items. I use my book to track items like toilet paper, laundry detergent, soap, shampoo, etc. When these items hit a “rock bottom” price, I buy a three to six month supply.

3. Shop at one or two stores. It’s almost impossible to keep up with prices from multiple stores. Find a store that you like and shop there. Granted, there will be times when you pay a few cents more for certain items, but you will get a “feel” for the store. I shop at our local Kroger. We also have a Wal-Mart and a Winn Dixie. I don’t shop at Wal-Mart because it’s always crowded and the choices are limited. I don’t shop at Winn Dixie because it’s always dimly lit, poorly stocked, and overpriced.

4. Take a calculator to the store. Personally, I use the calculator tool on my cell phone. Don’t assume that the largest size (or the smallest size) of an item is the “Best Deal”. Divide the price by ounces/grams/packs etc to find the per “X” price.

5. I like to shop on Tuesday mornings. (I try to avoid shopping with the kids or on the weekends.)

6. Never shop on an empty stomach! Seriously. Two reasons: You will buy more junk food and you will not focus on prices.

7. Chill out. Even if you overspend on groceries, you will save money as compared to eating out. Ninety-nine percent of the time, it is cheaper to eat-in as opposed to eating-out.

8. Use coupons. Use coupons WISELY. Seriously, you can save SOME money using coupons, but only if you use coupons for items that you would NORMALLY purchase. Companies are not stupid. The reason they give you a coupon is to ENTICE you to buy something you would not normally buy. Be smart!

9. Learn to love generic products. Most “store-labeled” products are actually made by name-brand companies. (Have you seen these news reports about the peanut butter? The generic and the branded were made by the SAME company!)

10. Stop eating so much! (I provide this tip as a reminder to myself!) Face it. If you eat less, you will spend less on food. Simple, dimple.

This list is numbered in honor of JLP!

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The past few days have been amazing. The No Credit Needed Blog and the No Credit Needed Network were recently mentioned in a N.Y. Times article about debt blogs. The article, written by John Leland of the N.Y. Times, has been picked up by several other news organizations, and both sites have been getting hits from around the world. Here’s just a brief list of the publications in which the article has appeared:

N.Y. Times

CNET News.Com

Wilmington, N.C. Star

International Herald Tribune

Seattle Times

ZD Net India

Spartanburg, S.C.

Alabama Times Daily

The News Tribune Tacoma, WA

Worcester Telegram

Austin American-Statesman

You get the picture! It’s been really cool to get emails and comments from brand new visitors and long time readers. I’d also like to take a second to mention the other awesome blogs mentioned in the article:

Blogging Away Debt (A member of the NCN Network!)

Poorer Than You

Save Leigh Ann

We’re In Debt

Defying Debt

Make Love, Not Debt

No Credit Needed Network

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you’ll take some time to read the archives or leave a comment.

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