I didn’t get my first credit card until I was out of college. I was afraid of those marketers who lined the main drag of campus on the first days of school, giving away free T-shirts and promises of easy money. I liked to shop, so it was inevitable that if I had a credit card, I’d run up thousands of dollars of debt, right? I’d heard plenty of cautionary tales. And my mom, who generally is the one I turn to for financial advice, discouraged me. She didn’t think I needed more than a debit card, and so for all of college, that’s all I used.But all that time, I wasn’t building credit. So when I graduated and moved to New York, I didn’t have debt, but I did have a really hard time getting a credit card. I was rejected again and again, and I finally had to sign up for a card that required me to put down a cash deposit. In the years since, I’ve opened a few more cards. It turns out that even though I love to shop, I’ve never been tempted to pay credit for something that I can’t pay off in full at the end of the month.But I’m no credit card expert. I’ve fallen for the store-card pitch (twice). A few years ago, I opened an American Express because it seemed like a sophisticated card to have in my wallet. I still cringe when I have to pay the annual fee. I’m not one of those people who knows how to take advantage of the points system to get free airfare. I have a pretty passive relationship with my cards. I use them to pay for everyday purchases and don’t think much about them beyond that.But in my job, I inevitably end up talking with a lot of women about their money. And I was surprised to learn that many of you aren’t using credit cards at all. You’re using debit cards instead, much for the same reason that I did in college — because credit card debt seems terrifying.While debt is bad, and I admire all of you for not taking it on, it’s also bad to not build credit. So I chatted with Priya Malani , our Refinery29 financial expert, and together we put together this handy credit-card primer.