The use of credit cards to buy EVERYTHING — even for items under $1 — ranks as one of the most damaging of American’s individual financial practices.

By using “plastic” instead of cash for nearly all transactions, consumers lose a sense of consciousness of the money they are spending, since no cash or coins are changing hands. In essence, the credit system is feeding mindlessness in motion, resulting in debts that often are crushing.

In conrast, if one uses cash and coins to pay bills, admittedly a style that requires more thought and planning, one sees that one’s wallet is thinner or, with a coin purse, lighter.

While we firmly place the responsibility for basic personal finance on each citizen, we also are cognizant that credit card use often is condoned at a relatively young age — first by well-meaning parents and later by colleges and universities.

The parents, perhaps for their own convenience or out of ignorance of the ramifications, too often allow their children to obtain credit cards and use them for most purchases, lazily relying on them for recordkeeping and thinking the use of cash and coins is somehow old-fashioned.

Also, many colleges and universities issue mascot cards to their students, encouraging further mindlessness in spending.