As a student of personal finance, I look into subject experts’ opinions on different topics. Dave Ramsey is such an expert who has made a name for himself in the personal finance and wealth creation niches. Recently I came across a video by Dave Ramsey that speaks about credit cards, and I had to disagree.

In the video I came across, Dave Ramsey was advising a fan who was paying his credit cards on time and enjoying the free rewards that credit cards give you. Dave Ramsey completely shuts off the person asking the question saying that credit cards are a NO! NO!!

So, I went into a few other videos Dave Ramsey has posted on credit cards, and his answer is the same. Don’t get me wrong, if you cannot control your spending habits with a credit card, as opposed to cash, you should not be using credit cards. But if you have the discipline to pay the credit card overdue on time, why is Dave Ramsey still saying no?

I specifically investigated Dave Ramsey’s responses to people who say they pay their credit card bills on time and have no other debts. Dave Ramsey goes into a common rant along the lines of;

“I’ve studied ten thousand of millionaires and none of them have said that they became millionaires by using credit cards.”

But Dave, that’s not the point of a credit card anyway. I don’t think any of the callers asked the question ‘how do I become millionaires by using a credit card?’ They simply asked what is the issue of using a credit card if the outstanding balance is paid on time.

The callers usually put forward arguments such as free travel miles, travel perks, reward points, deals with merchants, and cashback as benefits of using credit cards. Dave Ramsey mocks them as different ways that get you to spend more money. While this is true, there is no point saving every dollar without enjoying a vacation when you feel like going on a vacation.

This is not to say that you can be on vacation mode every day. But you do deserve to take a half-paid vacation if you had the discipline to pay off your credit cards every month for the last two years or more.

Dave Ramsey’s argument is that a credit card is not going to make you rich. Agreed. It won’t make you rich. But it won’t make you go broke, either, if you have discipline. And we are only talking about people who have the necessary discipline to handle a credit card.

If not for a credit card, what will you use? Cash? How is using cash any different from using a credit card if you pay the outstanding balance every month?! There is no difference. It is not like the stores charge you extra if you pay by credit card as opposed to paying with cash.

This is Dave’s usual response to everyone using a credit card responsibly;

The problem is Dave Ramsey is not customizing his responses based on the people who ask them. Most of these people make less than $100,000 a year and Dave has no time for these people. In the above video, he lashes out at the person who asks the question calling him ‘delusional.’ And he outright tells him that he is not going to be rich off of a $100,000/year salary.

Whilst this may be true on most occasions, there is nothing called ‘impossible’ in this world.

And for the tenth time, they are not asking to be millionaires. They are asking why they should not enjoy the free perks they get for using credit cards.

We say go for it. We say accumulate all the rewards you can get on credit cards, and enjoy something for yourself. It’s a pat on your back for being responsible with your credit card. And if your life ambition is to travel the world, there is no point in waiting to accumulate one million dollars to start your travels. Off of a $100,000/year salary, this will take a lot of time. And who knows how many good years we will have left after we become a millionaire.

Personally, I have been using two credit cards with two banks and have enjoyed some sweet rewards to trade for some goods and services, which otherwise I would have had to spend over a few hundred dollars. This makes sense to me!

Let us hear what you think about credit card management in the comments below. Should you use a credit card or avoid it like the plague as Dave Ramsey suggests?