Credit Card

After 15 years without a credit card (I swore off them since I had so much trouble managing them well, when I had them), I finally got one recently. This time around, I intend to use it only for its intended purposes, i.e.,

• to create a good credit history (we'll want to buy a house eventually, perhaps 5 years from now, or earlier, if the market tanks and prices become reasonable).


• to make our checking account more easily managed (costs which can be paid online are to be paid via checking, costs which are paid at stores are paid via credit card, so that checking account balances don't need to be kept higher than some prudent level).
  

Our cash flow (and need for "stuff", and mutual spending conservatism) is such, so far, that we should not actually need to access any credit lines, so we should be fine with keeping the credit card fully paid every billing period.

On the other hand, as "The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men / Gang aft a-gley", we'll be keeping a hard eye on that credit card, and if the cash discipline starts to slip, we're likely to cancel it with extreme prejudice :-).