[Kate*]

I don't have my own, but my mom made me an authorized user of hers when I was 16 or 17 to help build my credit.. Since it's hers, I only use it with permission and very rarely. I think I used it for medical copays before I got my job and could pay them myself, and when I was in college, she gave me one for emergencies and said, just tell her when I used it so she would know to pay the bill. She always told me "Don't charge anything you can't afford to pay for by the end of the month." So, you don't wrack up debt unless there's an emergency or something that you'd never have enough to cover; like she had to replace the roof recently, major plumbing heating/AC issues car stuff etc.

I'll probably get one for myself eventually for big stuff like that, just so I have a safety net. There's nothing wrong with them as long as you're responsible.