I’m a big fan. It allows me to keep track of several goals in Mint. I don’t know who your primary bank is, but ING allows you to do the same thing.

I totally disagree. I think it’s too risky to not use credit cards these days. Card skimmers are showing up everywhere. If someone steals your debit card information, guess who will be completely broke until the bank gets things sorted out for you? Also, the consumer protections aren’t as good on debit cards as they are on credit cards. The time you have to notice and report a fraudulent charge on a debit card is much shorter than on a credit card.

On top of that, if you’re managing your money properly, it doesn’t matter how you spend it. I mentioned it in a previous post about Mint as my budgeting tool. In Mint, it doesn’t matter how you spend your money. Credit, debit, check, etc. It’s all being counted in your budget.

I just got a brand new card that American Express offers. It gives 6% cashback rewards on grocery stores and 3% back on gas stations. We’ll earn at least $250/year on groceries alone, and that’s after the $75 annual fee for the card. How much would you need to put into your savings account to earn $250 in a year? Extended warranties on purchases you make using the card. Theft and accidental damage protection. One of our cards will replace our cell phones if they’re lost, stolen or damaged, as long as we’re paying our cell phone bill with the card. I could go on, but you can read my post on Credit Cards, if you want. http://www.moneybeat.info/2011/07/23/what-i-use-credit-cards/

It all comes down to how you use them. All the examples you gave are the fault of the user, not the credit card. If you wouldn’t make those mistakes with rent or utilities, why would a credit card bill be a problem? Really, the only reasons not to use them are if you’re the kind of person who can’t control spending, can’t keep track of your money, or you use credit cards to buy things you can’t afford in the first place. If you’re responsible, there are plenty of benefits that far outweigh the small additional step of paying one more bill. My bank is setup to automatically pay all my credit card bills in full as soon as they arrive, anyway.

Plus, it’s just an extra step to take when spending money. With a debit card, you spend it, it’s gone, and there is nothing else you have to do. whenever unnecessary steps are added to the process, it just increases the chance of accidents, no matter how simple the step is.