I hesitate to post about this because of the echo in the internets, but I want to respond to this post by Seth Godin on his blog.

For the most part, I agree with him, and for someone who isn't very responsible with their money, it's great advice. But what happens when you walk into a bank and ask for a loan to buy a house (one of those things that increase in value)? Well, if you follow the advice that Seth gives, they'll pull your credit and see that you've never exercised it, which means you have limited credit, which means that if you do qualify, you won't get as good a loan as you might otherwise.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for living within your means, and on a personal level, the idea of owing someone else money always bothers me. So, my advice is this:

1. get a card with a reasonable limit, ie, a limit no higher than what you could reasonably pay off in total within a normal month;

2. use it lightly, say keep the balance at no more than 30%;

3. keep enough money in reserve that you could pay off all your credit card debt at a moments notice if needed;

4. make regular payments, preferably more than is required;

5. finally, never ever get an adjustable rate on any loan that you plan on paying for more than a year.

If you aren't ready to do all of those things, then definitely, Seth's advice is solid. Better to rent and live frugally than end up with debt collectors chasing you down.