<prompt> Human: I am new to personal finance and Im trying to learn some knowledge so that I can set myself up for the future. Im seeing a lot of people saying that you should not charge anything that you cannot afford to pay off. Essentially if you charge 700 in a month you should pay it off in full on the next statement to avoid paying interest. But what is the point then? If I have the money to pay it off why not just use my debit card or cash? What is the point of having a credit card?Assistant: First of all, good luck buying something online with cash.Second of all, when youre ready to make a large purchase like a car or a house that you need to finance, the lender wants to know that you can responsibly handle debt. They cant do that if youve never actually managed any debt. Credit history is the point of getting a CC and paying it off every month.Human: You dont need a credit card to buy online. Debit cards are essentially cash unless Ive got something wrong.I just feel like there is a contradiction happening with the advice Im reading on here. For credit cards I see people saying dont charge anything you cant immediately pay back. So people are saying you shouldnt buy things you dont have the money for. But then people are saying You need to take out a large loan for a car or house in the future. But why? If you follow the same advice for the credit cards you should be saving until a house is something you can afford to buy without having to pay in interest.  <response>: Thats the problem. Youre using YOUR cash online. When your card details are compromised you are out of cash. With a credit card, you dont lose, tbse bank does.In both cases youre mostly covered for fraud but with a debit card you can be seriously put out. 