These Virginians show living without credit can be done

Some Virginians live well without credit.

Others get by with less of it.

They illustrate that Americans can successfully curb their credit habit.

But it takes discipline, hard work, patience, skillful prioritizing and a determination to earn it before spending it.

. . .

Chris and Laurel Wiegard of Chester said living without credit cards is not that difficult.

"We are living proof of that because our family has been credit-card free almost my entire adult life," said Chris, a librarian with a modest salary.

The Wiegards have been married 27 years. They live off their savings and his salary. They make purchases using cash and a debit card.

A few months ago, someone persuaded them to get an emergency credit card -- just in case. "We were living so much on our income," Laurel said.

The card sits unused in a drawer.

"I am very aware that frivolous use of such a card for a person in my situation is a ticket to bankruptcy," Chris said.

"I would love new furniture, new cars, new carpet, a flat-screen TV and a hot tub. But we are going to live without those things. Our rare impulse buys are made with our money, not borrowed money.

Chris and Laurel have two daughters, one in high school, another away in college. Laurel's mother lives with the couple under Laurel's care.

The college daughter shows no inter est in having a credit card.

The Wiegards have a mortgage, which is credit. But they used money from an inheritance to make a big down payment and keep their monthly payments low.

"Really, with a mortgage, you don't have much choice," Chris said. "Nobody is going to start their life out at age 25 and say, 'Here's a check for $150,000.'"

The Wiegards bought two cars and a washing machine on installment, which is credit, too. But, they paid those off and saved up for everything else.

The trick is to prioritize, Chris said.

"It is a matter of saying, 'I am going to drive the old car another three years because sending the kids to college is more important.'"

. . .

Julian Lugo of Powhatan County built a house without using credit.

He is an independent construction worker who immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico 20 years ago.

"I worked real hard and saved my money," he said. "All you have to do is work hard."

First he purchased a lot. "When I was ready to do the house, I did the house."

For eight months, he worked on construction jobs during the day, and on his home in the evening. "I tried to do almost everything inside by myself."

Sometimes he traded labor with a friend. Once, he borrowed money from a buddy and repaid it.

Lugo has an emergency credit card. But he only occasionally charges small amounts on it. He pays it off immediately.

Two years after building his home, Lugo built the garage. As he continued to save, the gravel driveway got paved and trees and shrubs were planted.

Today, his family of five enjoys living in a home assessed at $388,000 that's paid for.

Americans can live without credit, he said. "We lived in Mexico without credit. We can do it here."

. . .

Patsy Hughes, 68, of Crewe got into some trouble with two credit cards about four years ago.

"It was so easy to go out and buy something with that plastic," she said.

She used the cards a lot, for repairs of her car and her old 1968 Ford, for tires, oil changes, gas, to help her daughters financially, and pay nursing-home expenses for her now-deceased mother.

"Next thing I know, the balance wasn't getting anywhere," she said.

She made the minimum payments. She worried how she would pay the bill every time she made another purchase.

"I said the heck with this," Hughes said. "Let the charge cards go. I cut them up and politely sent them back to the company."

She paid them off and today she lives debt-free and has no credit cards.

"I've done really well without them," she said. "If I can't pay for it, I don't get it. I just wait."

She owns a home, which she paid for from proceeds of a larger house that she sold in Chesterfield County, where she once lived, and from yard sales.

She buys what she needs in thrift shops and from people selling things in newspaper classifieds. She conserves on food, uses coupons and waits for things to go on sale. Whatever work needs to be done around the home, she does it herself.

She built a shed and installed a privacy fence. "People laughed and told me I need to get a job as a carpenter," she said.

She does her own painting and power-washing at her house.

She lives off Social Security, retirement income from a job and money she earns from driving a school bus. Whenever a little change comes her way, such as when she helped work at an election polling place, she squirrels it away.

Americans can change their credit habits, Hughes said. "We're going to have to do it in this economy. The way you start is right in your home."

. . .

Retirees Evelyn & Jimmy Jones of Henrico County live without a credit card because the card issuer closed their account.

"We had only one and we would use it and then pay it off when we'd get the bill every month," Evelyn said. It carried a 3.5 percent annual percentage rate.

The Joneses were getting other credit card solicitations, too. But they didn't apply for them.

By last December, they hadn't used the card in a while and they got a letter from their issuer saying they needed to charge on it or it would be closed Jan. 1.

So Evelyn went shopping and picked out quite a few gift items. But when she got to the register and presented the card, it was rejected. The account already had been closed.

The Joneses were unable to get another credit card. So they threw in the towel and started living without one.

"We have retirement income" and some savings, she said. "We're not wealthy, but we are able to live comfortably. We're at the stage where we have more or less got everything we want or need. We're just paying necessary bills."

Contact Iris Taylor at (804) 649-6349 or itaylor@timesdispatch.com.