cash or credit

[mperez7372]

I use credit cards with reward programs and pay off the balance each month. So far I have never held a balance for more than a month on the card. Plus I get gift cards a few time a year for using them. For me it works but I can understand if it is hard to fight temptation to buy more than you can afford when using a credit card.

This is ideal if you are very disciplined.  I used to even pay my bills with credit cards because you get back.  Where else can you get rewarded for paying your bills!  This is NOT for those who are not very good with keeping their finances straight, though!!

[africanclaudie]

I prefer to pay cash, but there are times when one has to use a credit card.....like paying for a flight back to South Africa.....then you get life insurance thrown in as well. Unfortunately the interest paid on the credit card is w-a-y high and almost crippling! 

[ernica96]

cash because with a credit/debit card I tend to over-indulge especially when shopping online

[pstovall]

i use cash to pay for everything i have a prepaid credit card so i never go over the limit my ex put me in deep when we got divorsed thats why i won't have any regular credit cards plus i remember growing up mom and dad always told us if you can pay ofr it you don't get it

aggie49, my parents were the same as yours!  I grew up in the days before credit cards.  My parents drilled into me that if you don't have the money, then you don't make the purchase.  As a kid, I used to save and save if I wanted to buy something.  Today, for me, it just makes sense to use credit cards because of the bonuses you can get as a result; however, I never use my credit card to make a purchase unless I have the money in the bank to cover it.

[sdecaro558]

I never use cash if I can avoid it.  I always pay with my credit card because I get cash back on it.  Why spend money and not get anything back for doing so?

[amaravee]

i use cash, but im still young so i will probably use a debit card AND a credit card when im older

[champak97]

I do not like to carry cash anymore. I feel safer carrying wround my credit cards than a pocket full of money.
people these days rob and steal. I know at least if my purse is stolen and Im carrying cards if anything happens I can file a claim with my bank and I dont end up losing money.

I agree! Last week a girl from an energy company came door to door, and we let her into the house, and she was at the kitchen table explaining stuff, and she asked to use the bathroom, and my husband left the room to look for some information on the laptop, and I went into one of the bedrooms where my kids were, and she left the house after a few minutes. Half an hour later my husband was searching for his wallet which he left on top of the fridge, and after some search we found it near the door, by his shoes Needless to say, she had stolen $60+ from his wallet and thrown it. Atleast the credit cards were there, and we learnt a lesson from our bad experience. Even though we have the girls first name and her phone number, my husband does not want to report this, and says that life will eventually give her the fruits of her bad deeds! What can I say?

[southernhorizons]

I use cash when I make physical purchases at stores, and debit cards for online purchases. People think they are doing good with credit cards because of the cash back, but sooner or later they will forget or be unable to pay a bill on time, and then they'll end up paying more than what they get back, as well as start getting into debt which will be very hard to get out of. I have two debit cards that give me cash back for purchases, so I can remain debt free and get bonuses!

[sdenimandlace1]

I mainly use my debt card, no place to leave wallet or purse at night while at work.

[southernhorizons]

I do not like to carry cash anymore. I feel safer carrying wround my credit cards than a pocket full of money.
people these days rob and steal. I know at least if my purse is stolen and Im carrying cards if anything happens I can file a claim with my bank and I dont end up losing money.

I agree! Last week a girl from an energy company came door to door, and we let her into the house, and she was at the kitchen table explaining stuff, and she asked to use the bathroom, and my husband left the room to look for some information on the laptop, and I went into one of the bedrooms where my kids were, and she left the house after a few minutes. Half an hour later my husband was searching for his wallet which he left on top of the fridge, and after some search we found it near the door, by his shoes Needless to say, she had stolen $60+ from his wallet and thrown it. Atleast the credit cards were there, and we learnt a lesson from our bad experience. Even though we have the girls first name and her phone number, my husband does not want to report this, and says that life will eventually give her the fruits of her bad deeds! What can I say?

I think he should report her anyway, to prevent her from stealing from anyone else. Maybe she'll steal from someone who is very poor, and that person will have to go hungry.

[visvern]

  i use cash all the time for all my everyday purchase. credit cards are only used for travel,airline tickets and hotel reservations and of course car rentals. i learned a very hard lesson about credit cards when i was a young man. i will not allow myself to fall into that trap ever again

[alaric99x]

I use cash when I make physical purchases at stores, and debit cards for online purchases. People think they are doing good with credit cards because of the cash back, but sooner or later they will forget or be unable to pay a bill on time, and then they'll end up paying more than what they get back, as well as start getting into debt which will be very hard to get out of. I have two debit cards that give me cash back for purchases, so I can remain debt free and get bonuses!

No, forgetting or unable to pay a bill doesn't happen to everybody, it hasn't happened to me in over 30 years.  I check my credit card on line and pay on line directly from my bank account 2 or 3 times a month.  I don't just pay the amount necessary to prevent interest charges, I pay the full amount, so I'm always ahead of the game.

I use the Discover card, and I use it for every possible purchase.  Right now they have a special deal where you get 5% cash back for gasoline purchases, that gets me at least $10 a month cash back for fuel purchases for 3 months.  In September I'll have to pay city taxes for my own rental property and one of my brother's rental properties that I manage.  That city accepts the Discover card and the total taxes will be over $2000.  Even at 1% cash back, that will add another $20 to my September reward.  If I go on vacation, I charge everything, airline tickets, hotels, car rentals, meals, gasoline and all other purchases.  I use that card for everything, appliances, electronics, furniture, groceries, I even tried to use it to help pay for cars, but they wouldn't accept a credit card for a car purchase.  There have been months (not very many) when I made over $100 on cash back bonuses.  Of course it makes it easier if you have a comfortable limit on your card, Discover allows me a limit of $12,700, my Visa allows me a limit of $12,000, but I only use my Visa when there are purchases that don't accept Discover. 

[rusgiftsaolcom]

Most of the time I use cash. The only time I will use a credit card is for necessary purchases. And even then I pay off the card in one or two months.

[queensurvey]

cash most of time, debit card sometimes,usually when I don't have the cash that means I won't buy it.

[nickylanena]

I like cash because you can physically see how much you have to spend at all times. But, Debit (not credit) would be my number two choice.