Is Dave Ramsey winning?

More Americans avoiding credit and paying as they go[*1]

“We don’t use our credit cards anymore,” said Lisa Merhaut, a professional at a telecommunications company who lives in Leesburg, Va., and whose family last year ran up credit card debt they could not handle.

Today, Merhaut, 44, manages her money how her father did: Despite a household income reaching six figures, she uses cash for every purchase. “What we have is what we have,” Merhaut said. “We have to rely on the money that we’re bringing in.”

The shift under way feels to some analysts like a cultural inflection point, one with huge implications for an economy driven overwhelmingly by consumer spending.

Sounds like a good idea, really.

Wouldn’t you rather spend money for STUFF than to spend money to borrow money to buy somewhat less stuff?  Hmm?