Odds are if you are over the age of 18 you fall into one of three categories: You have (a) never obtained a credit card and therefore have no credit history and can’t use eBay; (b) obtained at least one credit card and found yourself saddled with some amount of unwanted debt, with moderate difficulty paying it off; or (c) obtained multiple credit cards, made several large, ill-advised purchases, racked up tens of thousands of dollars in debt and suffered as a result.

James Sinclair falls into the first category.

“I have never had a credit card. I am sort of fundamentally opposed to them,” the 24-year-old University of Manitoba linguistics major said.

Sinclair, who has worked primarily as a freelance graphic artist throughout his studies, said obtaining a credit card with virtually no employment history is tough. He also knows that his credit-free existence is a temporary one.

There is the unavoidable anxiety created by the fact that in order to purchase a big-ticket item – like a house – you also have to build credit. Being debt-free simply isn’t documentation enough that you are a fiscally sound individual.

“I’d prefer not to have one, but I will probably have to get one eventually to have any buying power,” said Sinclair.

The best way to avoid debt is to never buy anything you don’t need and to live within your means, he said.

Charmaine Jennings, a creative communications student at the University of Winnipeg, got two credit cards to use while traveling and found that upon returning home she quickly maxed out each one – racking up between $1,500 and $2,000 in debt – on purchases like clothes and CDs.

“I had a part-time job before I got a credit card,” said Jennings. “I always liked to shop but it wasn’t until I got credit that I fell into debt.”

Jennings said after missing several minimum payments, creditors began pestering her at work. She is now working to pay off her remaining debt in one lump sum, but because of the missed payments she couldn’t obtain a lease for her apartment until it was under someone else’s name.

However, Jennings’ debt woes pale in comparison to Doug’s hellish ordeal.

“I’ve had about eight credit cards,” said Doug, who asked that his last name not be printed. “My total debt from that and a loan which I took out to pay that debt off was about $25,000 by the time I was 21. I bought things like a couch and two big screen TVs.”

Doug then used a debt pooling service called Canada Debt Assistance to help streamline his monthly payments. Upon handing them the last $10,000 he owed to them, the company inexplicably vanished and he lost it all, putting him back where he began.

He offered some advice for avoiding a credit tailspin.

“If you have debt and use debt pooling, be sure the company is sound. Don’t get credit cards for stores, like Future Shop for example. And if you do, read the fine print.”

Published in Volume 64, Number 4 of The Uniter (September 24, 2009)