I've never come close to my credit limit.

I try to keep things simple. I don't spend much and try not to lead an overly consumerist lifestyle. It's hard considering that we live in a consumer culture nowadays where the marketplace is replete with products for purchase. Bigger is better, although over the past year, I've noticed a slight sea change in that regard. Rampant consumerism isn't no longer trendy necessarily.

My unofficial policy is to save up to 20% of my paycheck in the bank. I've accumulated enough savings over time to last me up to a year should I lose my job or anything unfortunate might happen.

It's a smart idea to plan for all monetary contingencies. A lack of planning and budgeting is what usually gets people into trouble when it comes to personal finance. For me, getting into credit card debt represents a last ditch type of situation. Some CC companies are charging 30-50% interest on roll-over debt. That type of situation can be very difficult to get out of, and frankly its not worth the energy to me.

Some people get into debt out of absolute necessity, but most of the time, it's just that people aren't too disciplined in their spending habits.

A good reason for not having a credit card. I have a Visa debit card, and I can't spend more than what's in my checking account. It works for pretty much everything that requires a major credit card (except car rental companies, which are essentially scam artists as far as I'm concerned, but that's a different rant).

I am pretty close to doing it simply because I have been dealt pretty bad hands career wise. It wasn't my choice to do it because it was something like either go without car insurance or drive without it, go without food or buy it, etc.

The better question is when is mine not maxed out.