I often saw colleagues flashing their credit cards, some carrying multiple cards and withdrawing crisp banknotes from ATMs. But I stuck to my old ways—presenting cheques to get cash and paying for everything in cash. It was simple and felt safer. Over the years, I saw both the use and misuse of credit cards—some cases were grossly irresponsible.

It wasn’t until nearly four years after retirement that we considered getting a credit card, as carrying large sums of cash felt increasingly risky. A friend’s daughter, a manager at a bank, persuaded me to open an account and apply for a credit card in 2004.

Since then, I’ve kept the same credit limit, never asked for an increase, and have never defaulted. With so many payment options available today, there’s no need to raise the limit. I rarely use reward points—they just don’t interest me.

Initially, I paid my credit card bills by cheque as soon as the paper statements arrived, carefully noting down cheque numbers and storing the statements. Once online payments and e-statements became available, we began transferring funds immediately after each card use. To me, a credit card was just a convenient payment tool—not a way to delay payments or incur debt.

Cash transactions remained my comfort zone. Even issuing cheques was rare. I resisted credit cards for years, not out of convenience but from a fear of overspending. Cash payments give an immediate sense of depletion, whereas credit cards allow you to postpone that impact. I preferred avoiding unnecessary temptation.

After borrowing for over three decades and using every loan facility available, I longed for peace. When I received my retirement settlement, I cleared all outstanding debts, even though I could have continued the housing loan. But I wanted to be free of all liabilities.

Being debt-free is being pain-free. It’s being hassle-free. It’s being worry-free. It’s being every-kind-of-free.

Contd. 312. Pendulum of No Choice