UNITED STATES─I am pretty sure we have all been warned that when it comes to our spending habits that cash is king. Why? There is nothing like it, but in this day in age that we live in at the moment, it seems cash is not king. Why? Most establishments want you to pay for your service or products with plastic. Particularly debit or credit, go figure. Look, I will be the first to admit that I am no fan of debit, I hadn’t been a fan of it until maybe 1-2 years ago when I finally got my first debit card. To be honest I only did it to prevent having to pay those pesky bank fees each month.
Yeah, it is very annoying to be forced to pay a fee to have a bank house YOUR money each month. I can totally see why so many people hate the notion of placing their money into a bank account because what’s the point if you’re not drawing interest. This conversation became of importance to me because it seemed no matter how hard I try to reframe from using my credit card, I’m always tempted to because these places do not accept cash. It sucks, but I can understand people’s hesitation because with the COVID-19 pandemic.
I hate this because it places me in that odd predicament where I find myself paying more and more on my credit card statements each month to compensate for the fact that I used my CC more often than I anticipated. It is very difficult to knock one person’s debt down if you’re constantly adding debt to your credit card. So it begs the question is it better to use credit, debit or cash? Let’s just rule this out now, debit is dangerous. It is good because it gives you direct access to the funds that you have in your checking account.
As a result, you can tend to overspend or not keep full track of the money that you have spent along the way America. For example, I think it is wise to never use your debit card more than 2-3 times a week. If you get into the process of using your debit card 10-15 times a day, you could be running the risk of spending your money a lot faster than you anticipated and could see fees from your bank for excessive use of your debit card at the same time.
Now with credit, we all know that its money that you do not have. Its money that is being lent to you and it’s your job to ensure you pay that debt down as much as possible whenever possible. If you pay the minimum due you will manage to prevent yourself from being in a position where the debt continues to grow to a point that you are unable to keep track of what you’re spent your card on and the best approach to attack that debt to knock it down as much as possible in the process.
Credit I’ve always believed is best used for large purchases, not small purchases that continue to add up over time. Be smart, not dumb when it comes to what you spend, where you spend it and how much you spend of it. This is where cash becomes king in my opinion; you cannot spend what you do not have. Also with cash it is so much easier to keep track of what you spend versus credit or debit. I mean let’s be honest who is walking around with a piece of paper to list every purchase made and how that impacts the direct amount that you have in your account to what is left after that deduction has been made.
With cash you tend to be more cautious with what you spend, how much you spend and what you spend it on. It also forces you to take a moment and say, “Hey, can I afford to buy this? Do I really need this?” It can be a double-edged sword as some might be keen to use their credit card instead of spending cash, so it’s a catch-22 people. Regardless of your method of payment be wise about what you spend, what you spend it on and why you are spending it. You do not want to be in a position where you cannot escape a dicey situation that you need to get out of.
