If you keep that same mindset and apply it to a credit card, you can benefit from having one. I’ve had a credit card for 10 years and always paid it off in full at the end of the month. You get a little bit of cash back from using it, you build your Neoliberal Good Consumer Score (which is useful for any future auto or home loans), and credit cards are also better protection against merchant frauds/scams. Credit card companies make so much money from people who carry balances that they don’t mind giving out these benefits to the few who pay it off monthly