> I don't know about yours, but my credit card is automatically paid off at the end of each month, so unless I run out of money I won't incur interest.

This, it's easy to set-up a direct debit to pay off the entire balance every month in the UK. Every major CC provider I've had a card with has supported it.

In slovenia, that's the "default" option (for mastercard and visa atleast). You need a special "loan mastercard" to be able to do partial pays.

I think "anyone who has to keep a close eye on their balance (so excluding most HNers)" refers to people who easily run out of money.

My credit limit is many times higher than the amount of money I keep in my current account and that's only for a single card. It's very, very easy to overspend on a credit card and after you've done it once it can be difficult to recover.

The entire financial world is designed to exploit people who are not very good with money.

Err, reduce your credit limit then, if you're worried about it?

I buy all my groceries on my credit card, basically get a 30-day, interest free-loan on food all year round.