Look at your cash.
Now look at your credit card.
​Now back to me.

If your cash balance is smaller than your credit balance, you're probably in the same position I was 12 years ago...dependent on your credit card without even realizing it.

That's the one thing I dislike about credit cards. They make it easy to hide how thin your actual cash cushion really is.

Everything else about them? Honestly, pretty great. The rewards (meh), the convenience, the security, and most importantly for me, the lack of international transaction fees.

But in January, I decided to try something new: I stopped using credit cards. Just as a personal experiment.

To my own great surprise, I haven't looked back.

I've got nothing against credit cards, per se, but life without them has been surprisingly delightful. Simple. Light.

Along the way, a couple of friends shared some incredible information with me. Warning, these extend deep into nerd territory. But if you didn't see that coming, I don't know what to tell you...

• A fascinating podcast episode about the history and strategy of Visa​
• An article breaking down the anatomy of credit card reward programs​

What's your current stance on credit cards? Love them? Hate them? Hacking them to Belize? Hit reply and let me know.

—Tyler

PS: These are a few of my favorite things (recently)

🎵 I don't reach for choral music too often, but when I tell you I've had this song on repeat since I first heard it months ago... Fair warning, it might make you levitate.

📕 Despite majoring in Russian Literature, I haven't read Crime and Punishment since college. Don't tell my professors. I find most books I read pretty forgettable, but I'm still thinking about this one weeks later. I hate how much of myself I see in Raskolnikov (not the murderous tendencies, don't worry). But I guess that's probably kind of the point. Shout out to my friend Steve for reading and discussing it with me book club style!