Can Hispanics Live Without Credit Cards?

I think that we all know that many of us Latinos rely on credit cards to get the things that we want now and pay later. It’s the American way, and for some of the most established Latino people, credit cards are very useful tool to get you out of a jam or simplify finances. But for other Latinos credit cards are just a way to get into debt.  I blame it on the advertising and television, because we want to keep up with Anglo neighbors “the Jones”.

To get out of debt and control your spending you must do it step by step (paso a pasito). The fist step to fix the problem is to cut up all your credit cards and rely on the always efficient system of many Hispanics that have no credit of legal way of getting credit cards, “the cash system.”

Of course, that you have the idea that credit cards are necessary for emergencies and also because they are part of the finances of the future world. But this is what the money controlling people want you to believe, but I know that is not true, and you should know that it is not true.  Because many of us that go visit our parent’s native Latin American countries or our home countries we just see it there. You can see how people live on the cash only system. I know what you may be thinking, “this is America, and it’s different here”. It does not have to be different, it can be done. CNN had a story on life without plastic.

The article outlines the reasons you don’t need a credit card, including research that indicates that shoppers who use plastic spend more than those who don’t.

I know that if you have gotten used to the fact that credit cards can get you the things that you need/want now, instead of waiting to save money to get them could be very difficult to let go o that habit.

Cut up all of your credit cards but one. I suggest that you keep that one for emergency purposes only, and keep it at home. Don’t carry it with you. That is exactly what I did, and I started to spend less and began to pay my balances.

If you could go about your finances a little more the Latino way, the way our parents did it.

Use credit cards in a way that can help you manage your finances and Not in a way that will hurt your finances.