Why do you use a debit card?

[JandJ]

If you charge something do you write it out of your checkbook and then pay the balance when the bill comes? I think I would end up spending the money if it sat in the checking acct. but I could hide it in invisible savings or actually transfer it to my savings.

We use Quicken and like another poster said, it deducts from your "cash" every time you make a purchase, whether it's a debit card, ATM withdrawal, cash from your wallet, or CC purchase, so you know how much you have left. We enter every penny spent and then download our accounts into the Quicken about every other day.

We are also on a strict budget. I know exactly how much I have each month for the major bills (mortgage, utilities, gas, etc.) and then how much I have for groceries, household items, personal purchases, and how much goes into retirement and into savings. We treat the CC like cash - spend $80 in a week on groceries and it doesn't matter if it came out of your checking account or on a CC - it's all the same money from the same place - using a CC and paying it off in full just makes it all on one monthly bill and we get really good rewards for using the CC too.

 

[Ciao Mickey]

I think the difference lies in whether you believe in taking on debt. I have used credit cards religiously since I was 18 years old. Only once in that time did I ever spend more than I knew I could pay off at the end of the month and that is when I moved into my own place after college and needed something to sleep on. I carried the balance for less than 6 mos and it was under $500. It has never occurred to me that carrying a balance was "ok". So for me debit cards make no sense. They aren't as secure as credit cards (it's your money that's really gone if there is fraud and you have to jump through the hoops while you could be bouncing checks without realizing it). Most don't offer points unless you use them as a credit card. Plus it makes bookkeeping a pain. I much prefer dealing with larger sums less frequently than little sums all over the place. But in my mind, there is no difference in the way I would use a debit card than a credit card -- I don't charge what isn't sitting in my bank account.

I think two times in my married life we purposely carried over a cc balance to the following month.

For me to have to keep track each day of every time I spend would be more work then I am willing to do.

What I am trying to understand with the younger generation is what is so wrong with carrying around some cash? It's not very heavy!

Please don't get me wrong, I am not trying to criticize anyone, I'm just trying to understand.

My own kids don't carry cash which drives me crazy. They would rather waste gas and run to the ATM then to keep an extra couple of dollars in their rooms for emergency. Now they know to ask me and I will loan them the money until they go to the bank.

We always keep some cash at home. I don't carry around more than I need but I always have some cash on hand. If I use up my cash I just take more from home. Isn't this an easier way to keep track of your spending? Because once the cash is gone it's gone--nothing more to figure out!

So in other words, using a credit card for some of you is too much of a temptation? Got it!

 

[iNTeNSeBLue98]

I only have cash on hand after DH cashes his paycheck. My income is direct-deposited, so I can't get to it unless I go to the bank and A) use the ATM before the bank opens on my way to work, or B) remember to go to the bank after work to withdrawal. I don't carry my checkbook anymore, so the bank would have to debit my account.

 

[Stein]

I think two times in my married life we purposely carried over a cc balance to the following month.

For me to have to keep track each day of every time I spend would be more work then I am willing to do.

What I am trying to understand with the younger generation is what is so wrong with carrying around some cash? It's not very heavy!

Please don't get me wrong, I am not trying to criticize anyone, I'm just trying to understand.

My own kids don't carry cash which drives me crazy. They would rather waste gas and run to the ATM then to keep an extra couple of dollars in their rooms for emergency. Now they know to ask me and I will loan them the money until they go to the bank.

We always keep some cash at home. I don't carry around more than I need but I always have some cash on hand. If I use up my cash I just take more from home. Isn't this an easier way to keep track of your spending? Because once the cash is gone it's gone--nothing more to figure out!

So in other words, using a credit card for some of you is too much of a temptation? Got it!

Sounds like the way I used to be. I had less than $2 on me about 99% of the time. I used credit cards and debit cards as did my wife. With two debit cards and four credit cards, sticking to any type of budget, even if it did exist was virtually impossible.

The less ways we have to spend money, the easier it is to track. Right now, we use cash for everything except utilities and debt where we write checks or pay online. My wife keeps our checking account perfectly balanced every day, so we know exactly how much is in there.

Like what was mentioned above, we have our bills planned out for my bi-monthly pay schedule and know who is getting paid from what check far in advance. We spend about 20 minutes twice a month paying bills and doing the budget and the rest of the month is care free!

Plus, it sure is nice not getting credit card bills in the mail! Even if you know what is in there, they just aren't much fun.

 

[lg3]

We used to use our debit card at Sam's Club, or some place that didn't accept our Disney Visa. Now that they take MC, we use our AA MC there.
I admit I occasionally use my debit card for things I may not want to show up on the Visa statement (I handle the checking acct), such as my hairdressers. I really don't think DH would care, but it makes me feel better. After all, he may still think I just wake up and look like a million dollars naturally.

 

[3js13]

We only use debit card for everything. Except bills. I put a budgeted amount into a separate checking acct. every week and write checks out of that acct. for bils. It makes it easier to keep track of what is spent. We don't have credit cards b/c we feel if don't have the cash we don't need it. There has only been two times in my marriage we needed to use a cc. So we used my dbil's cc and payed it off before it was due.

 

[photo_chick]

I no longer have any open credit cards. We have decided that if we can't pay cash for it (house and car being excluded) then we do not need it. SO I use my debit card for the easy acces it gives me to my money. I prefer it over writing checks as well.

That said there are times when I have made purchases that I had to go get cash out at the bank because I could not use my debit card due to the spending limit. You should have seen the look on the lady's face at Home Depot when I pulled out an envelope with $5000 to pay for the playhouse (really a glorified Tough Shed and very cool if I do say so myself!) we had built!!! I don't think she had ever had a customer pay cash for something like that. I did the same thing at Sears when I got my washer and dryer, though not as much money. It is almost unheard of now days not to charge large purchases like that.

 

[photo_chick]

Here's what I don't understand about you debit card users: sure, you may have the funds right now in your account, but what about the bills that are still to come before your next paycheck? See, I can't keep track of that any easier than I can my credit card spending!

I have all the bills and their due dates listed in my calendar with the amount for each. Each 2 weeks (night before payday) I make a budget. I decide which bills need to be paid out of this check, and which the next. Usually I have this planned out 3 or 4 checks in advance at least. I know exactly how much I have to spend on what things at that point. Then I keep my recipts and subtract them from my budget.

When we first got married DH and I used to do this with a sheet of paper taped to the back of the front door. Each of us would just write the new total of what we had left in each catagory.

I am an obsessive planner though! This can be good as I know I need to save $80 a paycheck to pay for our trip to WDW next year!

 

[DaisyD]

If you charge something do you write it out of your checkbook and then pay the balance when the bill comes? I think I would end up spending the money if it sat in the checking acct. but I could hide it in invisible savings or actually transfer it to my savings.

I don't write it anywhere. We just download the bill once a month and pay it in full. We have the money in the bank and don't have to worry if we overspend on it. I can't imagine blowing all the money in our bank account on a month of credit card purchases. There is no way I could walk around with all that cash when a CC is so much easier.