bullseye17

I almost never have cash on me. I use my bank card for 99% of all my purchases, and I've gotten really good at keeping track of my purchases so I know exactly how much I have in the bank at any given time. Anyone else use their bank cards mostly than cash?

majik

I replaced my bank card with something that gives me rewards. I saw zero benefit in using a debit card when I could be using a credit card that gives me something in return. For the last 6 years I've been paying everything I can on my credit card and simply paying it off after I receive the statement.

Stocker

^ this.

wheel_of_steel

I feel a little uneasy paying for things on credit though, even though I know I've got the money to pay it off. I just hate the idea of owing somebody something, it hangs over my head.

Stocker

Shoot, you should have been me, writing a check for $3600 last week to the CC company. Depending on how you look at it, you don't "really" owe them . . . for a while. You can change your thinking to increase peace of mind. Get a card with a month-long grace period and pay it off every month, you never pay any interest. It's like writing checks and they're all post-dated a month. I guess this is how the next generation learns how cool it was to float checks. Assuming you don't spend more than you make, just this liberating "float" is worth using a card you pay off every month.



And then, in the worst case scenario if you have some sort of an emergency, you have a few bucks of interest to pay, when you get back in the regular swing of things.

majik

I buy what I want, what I can afford, and what I need. If I can't afford it, I don't buy it. $3,600? I've doubled that a few times I'm typically around $5k/mo. but that includes all expenses, and some is company reimbursed.



Credit cards offer amazing benefits. Cash back, airline miles, hotel points, etc.



I'm flying to Belize this summer and I covered roundtrip airfare for myself, my wife, and 4 other friends. Over $4,500 in ticket savings because I use credit cards Now, I need to figure out how to maximize cash back instead, and whether it'll net me more than my int'l travel savings.

Stocker

Hey not everyone gets paid based on their HA reputation score there buddy! I pay my bills with CHECKS (yeah that's right PAPER ones) or else it'd be a lot higher.



I remember when we were first starting with this card and I almost choked over that $1500+ first check.

majik

Electronic Fund Transfers. One of Bank of America's biggest strengths is its online banking. I have zero reason to use a check book, unless donating to a charity that doesn't take a credit card or electronic payment (understandably) simply for the purposes of paper trail documentation for tax deductions.

wheel_of_steel

I use one of these for most of my purchases:







It is a credit/debit card, so I can still use paypal/eBay etc, but otherwise it acts as a normal eftpos card. It is just more convenient than carrying lotsa cash around.





Having a chequebook would be really badass, but these days most shops don't even accept cheques due to the long clearance times.

zero_gravity

credit card all the way. i'm quite good with keeping a rough idea in my head so i just pay it off in full every month. i have not payed a penny of interest in years. then i also get the returns for whatever card it might be (small % cash back, points, etc.)