Petty Vents

[roadfix]

My purchases are about 50% cash and 50% CC. I don't use a debit card.
I pay my CC bills in full each month so there's no interest payment.

 

[CharlieD]

The only thing I buy with cash are the cigarettes, so DW wouldn't see the CC bill and would not know. Started smoking again recently.

Otherwise I never have cash. Direct deposit, no reason to even go to bank.

 

[caseydog]

We use credit cards because debit cards are like cash - if you lose it and you don't discover that before someone else uses it, you're SOL for that money. Otherwise, we have the same benefits, plus points toward goods and the legal right to dispute purchases and limit our losses in case one is stolen.

My bank uses the Visa Check Card for debit cars, which is covered by Visa's "Zero Liability" protection policy. Any money lost from fraudulent activity would be refunded to my account.

CD

 

[Dawgluver]

I have a Schwab debit card I use for travel. I have a limited amount on it, and pull money from the ATM with it when we go to Mexico. Also use it for the rental car. They rebate all fees.

Otherwise I use my Chase Visa and earn cash points.

 

[Andy M.]

Hmmm. I have a debit card I rarely use. The bank sent me one so I carry it around.

SO and I have Capital One VISA cards we use for everything. We collect a lot of points by using it for everything. Those points provide some compensation for the costs of a vacation or whatever. Cash doesn't pay you points. We pay off our balances monthly.

On a related topic, does anyone still use travelers checks on vacation?

 

[roadfix]

We get a lot of tourists around here year round but I have not seen a travelers' check in over 20 years...?

 

[Just Cooking]

We use credit cards because debit cards are like cash - if you lose it and you don't discover that before someone else uses it, you're SOL for that money. Otherwise, we have the same benefits, plus points toward goods and the legal right to dispute purchases and limit our losses in case one is stolen.

I carry very little cash. Sometimes I prefer to tip in cash instead of on the bill.

4 months ago we also decided to use a credit card instead of our debit card for grocery purchases.. Best idea in a long time for all the reasons you state..

Ross

 

[caseydog]

On the venting subject, I don't have any credit cards. When I found out I had cancer 12 years ago, things happened very fast. At the time, I had great credit, and I took care of cancer treatment deductibles and copays by tossing down my credit cards.

I got a call one day from MBNA, which is now Bank of America, and they asked about all the medical charges on my card, and I made the mistake of answering truthfully -- that I was going through cancer treatment.

They cut me off at the knees, jacked my interest rates and trashed my credit rating. My other credit card companies immediately followed MBNA and stabbed me in the back, too.

My credit went from stellar to lousy bum, just for getting sick. I did not miss a single payment, I just got sick.

Now, I have a debit card, paid cash for my car, and the only debt I have is a 70K mortgage on a 240K home. The only inconvenience is that I use one of my dad's credit cards to reserve rental cars, and then pay the rentals on my debit card when I turn the car in. I rent about a hundred cars a year from Hertz, so they are very accommodating.

Now, don't get me started on Budget Rent-A-Car.

Bottom line, I just do not want to EVER have another credit card. To me, that would be like going back to an abusive spouse, and asking them to take me back.

CD

 

[dragnlaw]

Casey, same thing has happened to my daughter. She had a lumpectomy 7 years ago. Clean since, and now cannot get any insurance. Edmonton, Alberta, Canada....

Welcome to the real world.

 

[Addie]

I have a double sink, so the dish drainer lives in one.

I don't have that luxury! One single small sink here.

 

[Addie]

I'm going to tell the next idiot customer who hands me folded money to unfold it before handing over the money.

Almost sounds like the joke money you find on the ground, pick it up, open it only to discover the other half of that bill is blank.

You could ask if that bill is counterfeit before accepting it. They will open it fast enough to show that it isn't.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

casey, in my opinion, Bank of America has to be one of the worst banks to deal with. We had an account there when our son was a student at Arizona State U in the early 2000s. We got an account for the sole purpose of moving money to his account so that we did not have to do a wire transfer through our credit union and pay a transfer fee. As soon as he moved back home to OH, we closed that account. I had more headaches working with BofA over three or four years than I've had in the 30 years we've had a Discover credit card. Discover problems? Zero. If you want to be able to get your own credit card so that you don't have to play the shuffle with your Dad's card, maybe you could call Discover. We're also big believers of Credit Unions. Set up our account with one when we moved to MA in 2000, and won't go back to a commercial bank whenif we move back home.

We use credit cards...points toward goods and the legal right to dispute purchases and limit our losses in case one is stolen.

I carry very little cash. Sometimes I prefer to tip in cash instead of on the bill.

Love the cash back feature. Discover lets you redeem your points for gift cards. I just went on a BB&B spending spree today and got three new trinkets for my kitchen and it cost me...zero. Free is good.

 

[CakePoet]

I only have debit card ( I can pay with in store, some places online) and my husband have debit/credit card, it is great thing, it acts like a credit card but it only does so with the money you have. So you can rent car, buy stuff online but it doesnt put you debt, since you can only use the money you have.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

Some of us "use the money we have" when using a credit card, CP. It's and old-fashioned way of shopping, but we never buy unless we know we will pay the bill in full each month. We haven't paid interest on a credit card for decades and decades. Probably have paid it once or twice in our lives, though, due to an "oops" when a payment date is missed (I'm looking at YOU, Himself...).

 

[GotGarlic]

Some of us "use the money we have" when using a credit card, CP. It's and old-fashioned way of shopping, but we never buy unless we know we will pay the bill in full each month. We haven't paid interest on a credit card for decades and decades. Probably have paid it once or twice in our lives, though, due to an "oops" when a payment date is missed (I'm looking at YOU, Himself...).

That's right - we also pay the bill in full each month. It's just a convenience to get the points and therefore free goods [emoji2]

As I understand it, unless you have a certain type of debit card, someone who had stolen a debit card could wipe out the amount in the account connected to the card but if it's a credit card, the owner might be out $50 at most. Plus you have the right to dispute purchases. Much safer.

 

[Andy M.]

...but it doesnt put you debt, since you can only use the money you have.

Credit cards don't put you in debt. YOU put yourself in debt.

Certainly, if overspending is an issue, using only a debit card is a good solution.

BTW, most debit cards can be used two ways: 1. enter your pin at the card machine or 2. have the store process it as a credit card and the bank will still handle it properly.

with option #1, your bank account is more exposed and you don't have the same protections from the bank. With option #2, the protections of a VISA or MC are extended to the debit card and your account is protected.

 

[medtran49]

The only thing I buy with cash are the cigarettes, so DW wouldn't see the CC bill and would not know. Started smoking again recently.

Otherwise I never have cash. Direct deposit, no reason to even go to bank.

I'd be surprised if she doesn't know. Our SIL tried that with our DD. The smell clings to your hair and clothes even if you smoke in a well ventilated area, even more so with facial hair.

 

[GotGarlic]

I'd be surprised if she doesn't know. Our SIL tried that with our DD. The smell clings to your hair and clothes even if you smoke in a well ventilated area, even more so with facial hair.

Not to mention the breath and mouth. Nothing like kissing an ashtray

Sorry, Charlie. This brought up bad memories.

 

[roadfix]

... in my opinion, Bank of America has to be one of the worst banks to deal with....

I've only banked with B of A since my early college days and never had a negative experience with them. In fact, my current no-fee checking account has been active with them since 1975. I had a business account with them for several years as well.
I've also had several CC's with them over the years, plus a 15-yr mortgage and an home equity line of credit. I have no debts and I only carry one CC and it's a B of A Rewards Visa. No complaints.

 

[Addie]

I have never had an account with a 'bank'. I have only been with a credit union. I started with the one associated with the company I was working at. Direct deposit or I mail any checks in. When I settled my daughters estate, I received a six figure check. I had to go in town to the CU to deposit it. The teller was so excited to see me that she started to call everyone over. 605 is here, 605 is here! My account number. About six folks came running over to see and greet me. I used the mails for all my transactions when it came to deposits. Withdrawals, any ATM fees, the credit union reimbursed me.

Then that CU closed when the company went down to just a few offices. My account was sent to another CU somewhere. When that CU had problems again my account was transferred. I have lost track of how many times my account has been transferred. But I have NEVER had one problem with my account. No fees, an overdrawn account for free, and all the other benefits that banks offer, all for free. Including having my checks for free. My only complaint is that everyone of the CUs that my account has gone to, there is never an office close to where I live. But I have never had a question or problem that couldn't be handled over the phone.

Every CU I have been a member of, is a Federal one. The rules are a lot more stringent and strict!