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Dave Ramsey is notoriously anti-debt. On several episodes of his podcast, The Ramsey Show, the financial guru has encouraged his callers to avoid nearly all forms of non-housing consumer debt, especially credit cards.
In a recent interview with political commentator Tucker Carlson, Ramsey challenged the concept of credit cards altogether.
“It’s fairly recent that it’s so pervasive, that it’s just necessary for life — and it’s not,” he told Carlson. “I don’t have credit cards; I haven’t in thirty-something years.”
Carlson immediately asked Ramsey for an explanation.
“What’s wrong with having a credit card if you pay the balance every month?” he asked.
Ramsey simply replied: “Most people don’t.”
He says that 78% of consumers with credit cards don’t actually pay the balance off every month.
“Everybody talks about this theoretical discipline that they just freaking don’t have,” Ramsey said.
Credit cards are one of the most ubiquitous financial products in the country. According to recent data from the Federal Reserve, 82% of U.S. adults had at least one credit card in 2023, and by the third quarter of 2024, the number of credit card accounts had reached an all-time high of 600.53 million.
Growing credit card debt is a sign of expenses exceeding income. Taking control of your spending and getting out of debt starts with having a clear, organized view of your entire financial picture.
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By linking your credit card accounts, you can monitor your payment progress in real-time and set specific goals to get out of credit card debt faster.
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Getting control of your debt
To stay disciplined with credit card debt this year, it may be a good idea to automate your monthly payments to avoid missed deadlines and late fees. According to LendingClub, the majority (68.4%) of Americans manually pay their balance off every month, which makes it easier to forget.
