The smart way I implied using credit is literally only taking the bills you currently pay, pay credit instead and then paying them off with debit a few days later.

If a bill or layoff would financially ruin you on credit like this, it would ruin you even faster without credit.

If you get a decent credit card and that’s literally all you do, your credit score will go up and you can get free airline miles to use on hotels+airplanes. Or get a different card and get some% cash back instead.

You literally get more for the same money.

Not doing that is bad with money.