Where Do You Rank On Cash to Credit Use?

[ThomWV]

On all the things you buy as you go through the year do you pay with cash or credit; Green or plastic?

Please count "Debit Cards" as plastic, call checks "Cash" even though they both come out of the same account.

On Edit: My point isn't to find out how people access their money or even what it is people call their money. What I'm trying to find out is what comes out when they reach into their pocket to pay.

[PeaceNikki]

1. Um... "debit" = "cash", dude.

It's "plastic" but there's no credit involved. I do about 95% of my purchases on debit and NO credit. I call that "cash".

[ThomWV]

3. When you're standing in line in front of me all I see is Plastic

My point isn't to find out how people access their money or even what it is people call their money. What I'm trying to find out is what comes out when they reach into their pocket to pay. I should have said this in the original post. Thanks to the power of editing I can, so I will. Thanks!

[PeaceNikki]

8. Ah. Well, every place I shop, my plastic is FAR quicker than cash.

If transaction time is what you're analyzing.

[Clovis Sangrail]

23. but your thread title is 'cash to credit'

I *rarely use cash but I almost never use credit.

That card I use charges directly to my account... it's not credit.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

5. Same here. n/t

[Buzz Clik]

7. Under the rules of the poll, I'd be 100% plastic. But, it's all debit all the time. 100% cash.

[Atman]

9. Agreed...you can't call a debit card "plastic."

The banks charge the SELLER when you use a debit card. They charge YOU when you use a credit card. Debit cards are cash.

That being said...after a total financial meltdown several years ago, we were forced to go all-cash for a couple of years as we re-built our lives. In an odd way, it was the best thing that ever happened to us. We learned to live on only what we make, not what people will lend to us at usurous (is that a word?) interest rates. Now, I'm still all about cash whenever possible. I have one credit card which I hold for booking hotels, renting cars, etc, but I don't use it for purchases. We owe money on our cars and our kid's college tuition. But everything else is green green green.

.

[ThomWV]

18. I think you're probably right - I fucked this all up

[rug]

26. Aspirin or tylenol?

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

2. I try to use my credit card only where it's unavoidable, i.e. online shopping.

I am lucky enough to live comfortably on my salary. No reason to borrow anything.

(Well, I may buy a house in the not-too-distant future, but that's another whole ball of wax.)

[Atman]

11. It's rarely unavoidable. Most respectable merchants take PayPal or checks online

There are rarely reasons that you MUST use plastic. Rental cars and hotels are among them. But shopping online...direct checks and debit cards (cash) work just the same as a charge card for online purchases. Without the ridiculous interest rates.

.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

31. I do shop in sites that print payable bills. The "unavoidable" bit happens when...

...I want to buy an American book, say, from B&N or Amazon. I live in Brazil, and the only option I have in that case is credit. Of course, I pay in full every month.

I love buying foreign books -- no import taxes! :woohoo:

[slackmaster]

4. I pay my credit card balance in full every month whenever possible

That should count as "cash" too.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

10. Mmmm not quite. One is feeding the beast at the business's expense, instead of ours.

The credit card company gets a cut of the sale price. Of course, they don't profit nearly as much as if you paid them interest.

[PeaceNikki]

12. Yup, they get 2-3% of transaction price from the store.

[Frustratedlady]

6. 30-40%, but I pay it off each month.

Does that count for credit or cash?

With people grabbing purses, I quit carrying cash and only have credit cards and checks. That way, it is always in my pocket and I can write one check at the end of the month.

Works for me.

[NMDemDist2]

13. I do it all plastic by debit card. unless it's under $10 or over $700,

cash for smaller stuff, check for the big stuff (my debit will only give $700 a day)

[DemReadingDU]

19. my debit card will only give $200 per day

:(


I've had this account for 30 years, and never overdrawn it. So I think it is this bank's rule for debit cards.

If under $10, I use green dollars.

[ProfessorGAC]

14. We Use Plastic As A Convenience Only

We don't run a balance. We've got one card, with a $20k balance. We use for things that we have to have and then pay the bill when it comes in. For instance, i can only get my MS medicine through a specialty pharamcy by mail. So, i have to cover the co-pay with a credit card. Then, when the bill hits the door, we pay it off.

So, we use the card for probably $250 per month, but no balances.
The Professor

[blaze]

15. Probably 90-95% on debit

Monthly stuff I pay on-line (mortgage, insurance, phone...) and most everything else I pay with my debit card. I use to pay cash for Starbucks and stuff at 7-11 but I've been converted there, too.

[DailyGrind51]

16. I make it a practice to leave out enough cash so I rarely need "plastic",

which I save for emergencies.

[unblock]

17. virtually all plastic

everything goes on a credit card if possible, why not take the free 25-day float?

the only time i use a debit card is if they're running some kind of promotion where the bank gives you $25 for using your debit card 3 times in a month or something like that.

the only time i use checks is when the merchant won't take credit cards. these days virtually all actual storefronts take cards, so it's only babysitters and day care and that sort of thing.

finally, a lot of "cash" or "checks" that i pay actually means online bill pay, e.g., utilities that don't take credit cards, quarterly and annual tax payments, etc.


one distinct practical advantage of plastic is that the transaction can be easily downloaded into quicken, from where i can do a whole lot of tracking and budgeting. of course, you can always enter all cash transactions in manually, but it's far more convenient to download.

[glowing]

20. I rarely carry cash. If I'm carrying $200.00 and I'm robbed, I'm out of money

for gas and groceries.. and I will never get it back. NOW, if its on a Debit.. I call the bank and they stop the account before all the money is gone or before its accessed.

[ananda]

21. I generally go debit or credit... and I've always been a "recessionista"

I pay bills online if possible.

I write an average of one to two checks a month
for rent, auto insurance, and miscellaneous
if there is no other way of paying;
and I pay cash.. real dollars as opposed to
plastic .. every so often depending
on the place.

For example, if the place is a collective
or a non profit, I will pay cash dollars to save
them the credit card fee.

And I think I've always had that recessionista
mentality when it comes to shopping for clothes,
shoes, and household products.

However... I bought an expensive hybrid car to
assuage my guilt over owning an environmentally
irresponsible car and to do the responsible
thing for a change. Also...

I buy fair trade gifts for Christmas at the
collective non profit bookstore where I volunteer
and at Ten Thousand Villages. I also spend extra
money on organic food and meats and on supplements
for my health.

Sue

[lumberjack_jeff]

22. Using your definitions... almost all plastic.

I use my Visa for everything because I get a cash kickback and I pay my the bill in full every month.

I rarely carry more than $20 in cash, and the wife always has the checkbook. My wallet is primarily a vehicle for transporting receipts.

[FarCenter]

24. Cash, debit card, and credit card are three different things

Credit card is the best deal for the consumer -- provided that you get a credit card with no annual fee and pay it off every month, so that you don't incurr any interest charges or fees. If you have good credit, you can even get no-fee cards that give you 1 to 3% cash-back on purchases. Avoid the bogus airline miles -- they are not worth the equivalent cash and they are hard to redeem. The merchant pays a fee on the purchase that varies by size of transaction, type of merchant, whether a signature was taken, etc. The cash-back bonus to the card holder is paid by the "issuing bank" share of the merchant fee. The rest is split between the merchant's "acquiring bank", the network (Visa or Mastercard) and the "issuing bank". The merchant's fee is pretty high. The consumer also has the best leverage to dispute charges, return items, and the best protection in case of card loss or identity theft using a credit card.

If you use a credit card and don't pay it off on time each month, you are very foolish and loose big. The interest rates and fees are extremely high.

Cash is OK, depending on how you get the cash. If you get it from a "no-fee" ATM or some other free source, it is just fine. You pay list, you pay immediately, and your consumer protections are minimal. If you loose cash, the amount is lost, but the finder can't steal your identity (unless you lost your wallet with all your IDs).

If you get cash out of an ATM that charges fees, be sure to withdraw a substantial amount. Spending a $3 fee to withdraw $50 is very poor money management.

Debit cards authorize the merchant to withdraw money electronically directly from your checking account. It is gone essentially immediately. The fee charged the merchant is pretty low, possibly as low as around $0.10. And the merchant is pretty sure of getting the money, since the customer is disadvantaged when it comes to disputing a charge -- getting the money put back into your checking account is not easy. Debit cards are particularly bad for things like hotels or auto rentals, since the hotel or auto rental company will put a hold on funds in your checking account. Losing a debit card was formerly not a problem, unless you wrote your PIN on the card. However, now most debit cards can be used for purchases with signature and not a PIN, so fraudulent use of lost/stolen debit cards is more of a problem.

[exboyfil]

27. Great advice - That is how I run my finances

Credit cards are alot like the paradox of savings. They are great for the individual but bad for society as a whole (at least in the short term for savings - long term savings are the best for the economy). I bet a great many people in middle middle class and up use their credit cards for the 25 day float and the 2% on average kick back.

Credit card companies probably do just a little bit better than break even with these customers, but I bet they never lose money because of the 2%+ they charge to the merchants.

I have found that only cash merchants only do a little bit better on prices (for example Aldis for groceries).

I use my credit card whenever I can to get the 2% approximate kick back. Some financial experts like Dave Ramsey think that you purchase more if you use plastic even if you pay off at the end of the month, and I can see his point. It is a different feeling when you pull out the cash instead of the card. On the flip side you only have to get mugged once to eat through a lot of savings you would otherwise have done with cash.

You also get some consumer protections with credit cards that are not available with a debit card and surely not available with cash.

[Lasher]

25. When I get cash to spend I get it with my debit card.

So what's with that? And how about when I write a check to pay off my credit card bills each month? One is plastic-begotten cash and the other is cash-begotten plastic. There are no boundaries!

Only about 10% of my purchases are not with plastic. There are just a few things I write checks for. The local mom-and-pop natural gas company doesn't know that automatic bill pay was invented. And I write a check once a year to the county sheriff to pay property taxes.

I like to have a little walking-around money for those times when cash still says it best: Monetary gifts, gratuities, small purchases, and that .38 Special I just bought from a friend as a Christmas present for Mrs. Lasher.

[mondo joe]

28. Debit card for almost everything, almost all the time.

Easier than cash an I like the written record.

[tammywammy]

29. Since you're including debit as "plastic" I have to say all plastic

I don't use credit cards, but I rarely ever have cash on me. Debit is just like using cash. *shrug*

[Edweird]

30. All cash except for online....

[H2O Man]

32. Never had a card,

never will.