Cash Is King No More

Davey Jones

Well-known Member
Location
Florida
Amazing isnt it....nobody carrys cash anymore the Debit card is now king.
Lets see here..I got a 20 and 3 1s in my pocket now,I feel like a traitor and so backwards.

Quote debit cards have proven to be highly popular, especially among young people. Companies like Moven and Simple offer a combination of a debit card and a mobile phone app to help people track and control their spending.


http://www.forbes.com/sites/tomgroenfeldt/2014/10/18/cash-is-king-no-more-as-mobile-payments-soar/
 

I will NOT use a debit card... They are worthless... might as well carry cash. A Credit card makes more sense if you can pay off the balance every month. You get cash back and other rewards with credit cards that you don't get with debit cards. I pay everything with a credit card and write a check to pay it off every month... Discover gives me cash back.
 
Since I am paid electronically for my online work I find it much simpler to go with debit cards. If I need cash - which is rarely - I can hit up the ATM. I can also use the same card for online purchases - try using cash for those.

Another good point for debit cards - you can only spend what you actually have, unlike the urge to buy out the stores with credit cards.
 

Since I am paid electronically for my online work I find it much simpler to go with debit cards. If I need cash - which is rarely - I can hit up the ATM. I can also use the same card for online purchases - try using cash for those.

Another good point for debit cards - you can only spend what you actually have, unlike the urge to buy out the stores with credit cards.

I am able to contol my urges... I KNOW what I can pay off the end of the month... ALso... another point. You cannot increase your credit score using a debit card. Which while not that important to me, but for younger people starting off .... that's important.
 
I am able to contol my urges... I KNOW what I can pay off the end of the month... ALso... another point. You cannot increase your credit score using a debit card. Which while not that important to me, but for younger people starting off .... that's important.

Your credit card company must hate you! How could they make any profit off of you?!? ;)

I suppose if the youngsters want to fall into the same trap their friends and family have and play the credit score game then yes, debit cards fall short there.
 
Your credit card company must hate you! How could they make any profit off of you?!? ;)

I suppose if the youngsters want to fall into the same trap their friends and family have and play the credit score game then yes, debit cards fall short there.

They still make some money.... they charge the vendors a fee to accept their cards. I agree, not as much as they could if I paid them interest, but they are still making some money on every transaction I make.
 
I am able to contol my urges... I KNOW what I can pay off the end of the month... ALso... another point. You cannot increase your credit score using a debit card. Which while not that important to me, but for younger people starting off .... that's important.

While I'm not personally opposed to using credit cards, I for one use a system of automatically depositing my SS/Pensions > paying all my bills online > pulling my cash through the ATM > depositing what I earmarked for savings into another bank (without debit card access) > placing remaining cash in a fireproof safe and using the envelope system for everything else > carrying enough cash for gas and personal whims.

Credit cards are a ticking time bomb as far as I am concerned, the banks and issuers know it and hope you falter, then they got you and I don't need the headache and additional monitoring to keep ahead of the game. I don't need the additional income from the rewards, never fly and stay only in my RV when traveling. My debit card can be used for cashless travel and is usable at over 30k CU's in the US. I monitor my budget and banking on a daily basis.

I've reached the age when I let younger more daring individuals play the rewards game. Gambling (craps) is my only vice and when I run out of chips I have to walk away from the table.
 
One thing for sure, when I see someone paying with cash or check, I'm a little amazed. But, there are times that I will pay with cash myself.......if, what I'm buying is under $20. Generally, $20 is the most cash either of us will carry. We are pretty much just into using cc's and our bank card.

One thing we learned about cc's, if you don't use it enough, the company can close your cc account and simply have you pay the balance. We lost a Bass Pro cc, b/c of that. Didn't use it for a long time and got a letter that the cc was cancelled.
 
Every time you swipe your card (debit or credit) you expose all your personal information i.e. name, address, SS#, bank information,,,etc, to the world. You assume it is safe and no one will use it for nefarious purposes, but alas the mugger you need to worry about is NOT the stocking capped stalker creeping up behind you but the 18 YO Ukrainian sitting in his basement gathering all the bits and pieces of information he can to sell to other shady characters. It's a big business and no one and I include myself is safe from it.

I just try to remain as much off the grid as much as possible. I figure that if my wallet containing only $50, drivers license, and Medicare card is lost or stolen then it would be a small price to pay rather than draining my savings and entering my home stealing my safe and God forbid doing bodily harm. I read every day about another retail breach and security minded people saying, 'It is a fact of life that we all can't be entirely safe from fraud'. It's the attitude that they want you to accept and roll with the punches for convenience.

When and if I need to use my debit card I've taken the extreme step of scratching the swipe strip making it unreadable and forcing the clerk to enter my card # manually. They tell me to get a new card but they want the sale and enter it anyway. Ya I'll get right on that.
 
Every time you swipe your card (debit or credit) you expose all your personal information i.e. name, address, SS#, bank information,,,etc, to the world. You assume it is safe and no one will use it for nefarious purposes, but alas the mugger you need to worry about is NOT the stocking capped stalker creeping up behind you but the 18 YO Ukrainian sitting in his basement gathering all the bits and pieces of information he can to sell to other shady characters. It's a big business and no one and I include myself is safe from it.

That Ukie will be disappointed if he gets my info - he'll discover that I keep only a very small amount of money on my card until I know I'm going to be making a purchase. Normally my balance hovers around $1.00.

As for the stalker behind me - I hope his medical insurance is paid in full.

I just try to remain as much off the grid as much as possible. I figure that if my wallet containing only $50, drivers license, and Medicare card is lost or stolen then it would be a small price to pay rather than draining my savings and entering my home stealing my safe and God forbid doing bodily harm. I read every day about another retail breach and security minded people saying, 'It is a fact of life that we all can't be entirely safe from fraud'. It's the attitude that they want you to accept and roll with the punches for convenience.

Well said. ;)

When and if I need to use my debit card I've taken the extreme step of scratching the swipe strip making it unreadable and forcing the clerk to enter my card # manually. They tell me to get a new card but they want the sale and enter it anyway. Ya I'll get right on that.

That would kill my ability to use an ATM then ...
 
I think that however careful we are, we are all at more risk of fraud than ever before.It is worrying, and all we can do is to minimize the risk, don't put all your eggs into one basket as they say, have a few different bank accounts.We don't do online banking either, but realise that we will have to [in time.]
 
re:When and if I need to use my debit card I've taken the extreme step of scratching the swipe strip making it unreadable and forcing the clerk to enter my card # manually. They tell me to get a new card but they want the sale and enter it anyway. Ya I'll get right on that.


Now THAT I did not know,hummmmm not a bad idea.
 
My credit card companies have been pretty good. If they even suspect a fraudulent purchase they deny the card. They stopped someone from buying a cart of groceries in Dallas Texas on our number. We are also not responsible for purchases we didn't make.
 
That would kill my ability to use an ATM then ...

Sorry, I was referring to earlier in my banking experiences. I used to use the debit card for all purchases years ago. I never gave my card to a waiter/waitress to process but would swipe it until I read a security publication about the amount of personal data recorded on the strip. I also decided after an incident with my AMEX card being used to purchase $1300 worth of ski equipment from a Colo address to be delivered in Neb during June, there's not a hill high enough in Neb to ski from. The only reason I found out about it was the equipment was bought from an online source in N.E. and they sent me a thank you note and reciept for the purchase, I did get full reimbursement from AMEX and then cancelled my card.

After that I opened three bank accounts 1 - deposits and ATM full cash withdrawal , 2 - savings, and 3 - all online purchases and monthly bills. Deposit cash from #1 into #2 and if I buy something online I deposit enough to cover it and the monthly bills using the debit card number from #3, I maintain a zero balance. All local purchases are made in cash. I ask for a 3% discount and have walked at times if they refuse, it's surprising how many times I reached the door and had the clerk call me back.

See why I don't want to add another accounting headache to my routine.
 
I don't like the idea of a debit card, but I do use a couple of credit cards for certain things, big ticket items, vacations, gas, etc. Like QS, I pay off my balances in full, never minimum payments. I figure if I can't afford to pay it off in full, then I can't afford to buy it in the first place. Credit cards are only used when convenient, on a daily basis, I still use my check book.
 
Most places won't take a personal check.. If they did, I would have no problem.. We pay for our groceries by check, but we are registered with our grocery chain. I've got a handle on our personal cash income and outlay... and I don't mind building up some cash back.. It's nice to call Discover and tell them to apply the cash back to the payment.. It's like getting some free stuff! Same thing with Costco... the more you spend the bigger the check they send you at renewal time... I just got a rewards check from Costco that will pay my 2015 membership fee.. It's like having a fee membership.
 
We spend a lot at Costco, was just there today and spent almost $300. Used our American Express card today, since it hadn't been used for awhile. Still use Discover and Capital One card for the cash back feature at other places.

Never heard of rewards from Costco. They just sent our yearly membership bill, and it's $55, same as always.
 
We spend a lot at Costco, was just there today and spent almost $300. Used our American Express card today, since it hadn't been used for awhile. Still use Discover and Capital One card for the cash back feature at other places.

Never heard of rewards from Costco. They just sent our yearly membership bill, and it's $55, same as always.

Serioiusly? We get a check at the end of each year based on the amount we spend there.. I'm not sure what the percentage is. I just got a check for $85.00 in the mail. We have the executive membership so not sure if that's what the difference is. I always use my American Express at Costco... and only at Costco.. and I pay the balance off each month.
 
At times, I think too many people just "live in fear". It's definitely ok to be cautious, but not doing some things b/c of "fear" just isn't the way we want to live. People can find out things about people without ever using a cc or going on a computer.
 
At times, I think too many people just "live in fear". It's definitely ok to be cautious, but not doing some things b/c of "fear" just isn't the way we want to live. People can find out things about people without ever using a cc or going on a computer.

Fear has nothing to do with my decisions about using cash vs credit/debit. I estimate I spend approx $12,000 yearly for gas/groceries. If I had a capone card getting 1.5% back that equals a whopping $150 per year rewards. I said I don't fly or stay in hotels so any rewards or points are non-existant. I do shop at Costco and my daughter has a business account that she gets rewards yearly. She pays my $55 and whatever she gets back covers it. I don't have to worry about it or try to keep track. If I happened to have a personal or financial problem and was unable to meet my obligations then any built up rewards are gone and they are adding 22% interest plus late fees. No thanks the risk doesn't justify the benefits.

I deal strictly in cash no checks and have always been able to buy what I needed. I said I gamble and whether you believe it or not I have made money doing it. No records, the hotels in Vegas comp me 2 free nights saving $60 a night every two months along with $50 meal credit. My math says that equals over $1,000 yearly if I choose to take it. I have never had to use an ATM in a casino and only risk what I can comfortably afford to lose. I get comps because they want to keep me at the tables until we're even or they have more of money than I have of their's. It's a cat and mouse game that I play very well.

I don't mean to be critical of others and their choices but this works very good for me and I see no point in trying to prove I can beat the bank when I'm doing in other ways.
 
I will NOT use a debit card... They are worthless... might as well carry cash. A Credit card makes more sense if you can pay off the balance every month. You get cash back and other rewards with credit cards that you don't get with debit cards. I pay everything with a credit card and write a check to pay it off every month... Discover gives me cash back.

We used to always use a credit card for everything that gave cashback, now we use one to get us airmiles. And we always pay off the balance each month. We don't write checks though. Everthing is paid online. We might write one check a year. I do use cash for some purchases under £5 as some shops require that.
 


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