Debit cards are for people who can’t get credit cards.
Not all of us are as lucky as you are financially.
I like the debit card as opposed to the credit card because at the end of the month, there’s no bill to pay. It’s already done.
I still use credit card and debit card, but my use of credit card has waned considerably since I got the debit card.
Because at the end of the month when I would normally be paying off the credit card by writing a check, I now have less to do.
Basically what catsix said. Why make extra work for myself?
We have two major credit cards. I make purchases on them a few times a year and pay them off immediately. I do this because of some antiquated notion I have of keeping up a good credit rating.
Juanita is right about one thing I didn’t mention as to why I bother to keep the credit cards, use them sometimes, and pay them off right away.
Credit history.
Came in very helpful when getting a car loan.
Other than that, a debit card is easy.
Another reason I’ve kept the CCs too is that I make purchases online. I feel much better about using a CC which does not directly remove money from my bank account for that, because if someone fraudulently uses my CC, I’m not liable for any of the money they spend.
It’s a lot harder to get around that with a debit card, which could cause major problems if someone used that number to drain my account.
FTR I am a female and I have a check book and credit and debit cards I pay most of my bills online and have my mortgage payment payroll deducted.
If I am shopping I prefer to use the debit card because it is just easier and quicker but there have been times when I have had to write a check for a small amount and had no qualms doing so.
But had I been in front of a person displaying an attitude such as yours I WOULD TAKE EVEN LONGER!!! Comments such as yours are epitome of arrogant ignorance.
Let me let you in on a little secret. Everything that happens around you is not about you. If people are doing things that you can not fathom, then it probably none of your damn business.
But I get the impression that you are secretly hoping that everyone here is lining up to call you a misogynist asshole so that you can in return say something witty and original like.
“See I told you women are stupid, I just can’t figure them out sometimes”
:rolleyes:
I use a debit card instead of a credit card because credit cards are too easy to use. With my debit card, I have to log my purchases and I have to monitor my checking account, so I’m less likely to buy shit I don’t need. I have two credit cards and I keep very modest balances on both. (I’ve found if I don’t use them occasionally, the credit card companies threaten to cancel them, but I don’t use them much.)
Yes, credit cards would be ideal for people who have the ability to pay off their balances in full every month and who don’t have a problem over-spending. But it’s the rare American consumer who can claim both of those admirable traits.
Here’s by 2-cents: While the majority of check-users here are claiming it doesn’t take any longer, it has been my observation while shopping that it does in fact take longer. I invariably get stuck in line behind someone who is busily scribbling their first novel into a checkbook while the cashier stands patiently waiting for them to finish. The cashier then takes the check and the customer’s i.d., and compares the information on the i.d. to that on the check, then has to stamp the back of the check. Perhaps some of you have perfected this process to the point that it takes no longer than using a credit card - however, the check-writers who shop at MY store take much longer to complete the transaction.
And IMO, writing a check for less than a dollar is just rude. Even though it’s such a small amount, that check will still have to be processed. It’s a waste of paper, ink, time, and effort.
As a credit card payer-offer, I’d like to thank you for the compliment, Jodi. As a matter of fact, if you can pay it off every month, a credit card’s the best thing since sliced bread. If you can’t pay it off, it’s the worst thing since…uh…un-sliced bread? [The analogy police are gonna ream me on that one.]
I don’t think there’s anything inherently misogynistic in observing that there are behavioral differences between men and women. While the generalization may be inaccurate for a particular woman, I feel safe in saying that women tend to own more pairs of shoes than men do, even though both are equipped with the standard two feet. More women carry purses than men. More men watch football than women. That’s just the way it is.
Efficiency at the grocery checkout, at least in my experience, is not the exclusive province of either gender. I agree that women tend to be paper check writers, more so than men. But more men tend to be the purveyors of, “The total is $9.36, so I’m giving you a twenty, a dime, and a penny – to make my change easier.”
Ref: KellyM’s comment:
I don’t think Anthracite was describing a situation that arose from luck. I grant that in some cases, people with perfect credit are the result of having a large trust fund to draw on, and people with poor credit are the result of disasters beyond their control. In general, however, people with poor credit have poor money management skills. The credit card companies are aware of this; that’s the entire purpose of tracking credit history. People with a history of good money management tend to continue to exhibit it; people with poor money management often continue in that vein.
I had a credit card when I was in college and dirt-poor. I had no trust fund, no full-time job. Yet I paid the card off nearly every month. I never failed to pay at least the minimum required. How? By planning my use of the card carefully. I knew HOW I would finance a purchase before making it. That is, to my way of thinking, not luck at all - unless you’re referring to the luck of being a certain type of person, in the same way that Mel Gibson is merely lucky to be a successful actor.
High credit lines not a result of income so much as they are a result of years of steady bill-paying.
- Rick
Call me stupid, and I’m sorry. I thought debit cards required roughly (but less, since they are backed by money in an account) the same credit rating as credit cards. 
I had credit cards even when I was a starving college student. I simply never used them for things I could not afford. One time, it really did come down to “charge on a card when I can’t afford it versus not buy groceries”, and I didn’t buy the groceries, instead seeking help from my parents. If I hadn’t had that help…I don’t know, I might still not have used the credit cards - it just really wasn’t my way. However, it’s hard to say until you are reduced to total desperation what you will do. 
I also have girl bits, and do not use cheques. We print our own, so if we absolutely need to write one, we will print it off. Dave generally handles anything that requires cheques, though.
I prefer to pay by cash or debit. It’s simpler.
[ul]
[li]women tend to own more pairs of shoes than men do, even though both are equipped with the standard two feet. [/li]I have more than a dozen pairs of shoes (not counting slippers)
[li]More women carry purses than men. [/li]Does a messenger bag count?
[li]More men watch football than women. [/li]Hate it
[li]women tend to be paper check writers,[/li]Mentioned before.
[/ul]
I’m more woman than several of the women in this thread then. Except for the penis.
Well, Lorena Bobbit can take care of that.
Yes, Homebrew, your anecdotal evidence obviously contradicts any statistical observations. Thanks for the input.
Now, for my anecdotal input:
I have written a single small check, and that was for stamps at the post office when no one was behind me and I’d forgotten my wallet. Otherwise I only use them when I have to mail them.
Debit cards have horrible consumer protection compared to credit cards, which is a good reason to avoid them, along with the miles and cash back and such. Yes, the retailer takes a hit, but it’s their choice to take CCs or not.
Funny! I don’t carry a purse – I have a ton of stuff in a backpack that usually lives in the car. I pay with cash or debit card. If I’m out of cash and left my debit card at home, it’s nice to have a check…
But that’s not why I’m posting. I have a MOVIE PURSE. In the 70s, I did carry a pocketbook, bu now I use it only for going to the movies, to stash stuff in.
I rarely use my checkbook. Billpaying, and whatever else needs a check. Most recently, I had to pay for my kid’s school pictures with a check. I didn’t want to put a credit card number on the envelope that was sent back to school.
My daughter went on a church retreat this weekend, and I paid with a check. They didn’t want cash, and didn’t take credit cards.
I never carry the checkbook with me.
I use the debit card for groceries, at the drug store, wherever I can use it, if I don’t have the cash, or if I need to use what cash I do have for some other purpose.
Mine has a Visa feature, but I rarely use that. I always hit “debit” on the machine.
I also have a SpeedPass thingy for gas, if I’m filling up and don’t want to use whatever cash I have. It comes right out of the checking account.
**I thought debit cards were issued to as a replacement to ATM cards. That’s how I got mine. My bank went through some sort of overhaul years ago and when we got new ATM cards, they had turned into debit cards. Are you sure your ATM card can’t be used as a debit card?
It was just issued automatically; I didn’t have to apply for it.
It’s not a credit card. The money comes right out of your checking account.
The purse issue…
I have a Movie Purse, too! Big enough to fit a couple of bottled sodas and some candy.
No, she’s me. 
I very rarely carry a purse. I have my Movie Purse, and a nice purses for going out, and even then sometimes I don’t take one. I’m not one for slipping off to the bathroom to powder my nose.
I prefer purses that can be worn like a backpack, because otherwise they always slip off my shoulder.
I have a neat wallet with a clip for my keys. It has slot for credit cards and ID, and even a little pocket that’s just big enough for a Chapstick and a mini tin of Altoids. That’s what I carry 90% of the time. Drives my mother crazy. She’s the type that has a purse for every occassion, and to match every pair of shoes.
Debit cards require (at least at my bank) some measure of credit-worthiness. Although they work by debiting money directly out of the checking account, the charges go through the Visa system. A merchant could accept a card even without immediate electronic approval – say, at a crafts show with merchants without phone lines, the debit card can be run through a manual imprinter, just like the old days.
Homebrew’s list of what he does has, of course, absolutely no relevance to any of my assertions, since I was talking about tendencies, and not absolutes.
I’m still kind of amazed at the characterization of people with good credit records as “lucky.”
- Rick
My angle is that debit cards are THE only way to go for one major reason.
When I need a cash infusion, I have few choices:
1.) go to local ATM (and pay a to withdraw $100 or so);
2.) write a check at a bank (too much of a pain in the butt); or
3.) stop by a grocery store/Sams/etc. and buy some beer or supplies/etc. and get cash back with NO charge.
I could be completely wrong, but don’t think any of these places will honor a check for cash back above total purchase value.
Haven’t written check in months.
My debit card is a Visa check card, so I have two options when I want to buy something: debit (type in the PIN) or credit (sign on the line).
I never use debit. I have this recollection that my bank charges $1 or $2 per debit transaction (I haven’t used “debit” for months so I don’t know if that’s true anymore), but it’s free if I use “credit”. The only place that requires “debit” is Costco.
Visa also puts on promotions a couple times a year, where every time you use “credit” you’re entered to win $10,000 or a boat or something.
I have great credit - and yes, it is somewhat due to luck.
For the most part, I didn’t completely overspend, and I did keep some limits - but nowhere near as many as I should have. I was always able to pay the minimum, and usually more than that - but that wasn’t always due to careful planning on my part.
During college, I had parents with whom I could stay rent free over the summers, so I could earn enough to pay off some of the excesses. Whenever I did get laid off, or had to work for way less than I needed, I always happened into another job in time for me to pay off my bills. But another two or three months unemployed could have ruined me. Also no catastrophic illness/injury which has destroyed some people’s finances.
Brickers hijack is facinating.
I think most things in life, including your financial competence, and both a matter of luck and skill. You can be very lucky and have almost no skill, or very skillful with very little luck. But you do need a little of both.
In your financial life, you can be lucky enough to get a trust fund, but skill-less enough to blow it. Skillful enough to budget and invest wisely, unlucky enough that a job loss/health problems/ market crash can make all that meaningless.
Mr. 'Rosa and I have had a good combination of luck and skill - our credit (after he had a bankruptcy after college, due to some complete cluelessness on his part) is good, our debt load nearly non-existant, our cash flow leaves money left over every month. But I KNOW part of that is luck (relatives dying and leaving you money never hurts), and part is the skill of being able to live within our means - and we have been for years - and plan for contigencies.