Quote:
Originally Posted by fasternyou929
All points below assume since you know your budget, you have the mental capacity to stay within your budget using a credit card just as you do using a debit card. If you're sharper than a marble, you meet this criteria.
1. Your debit card is linked DIRECTLY to YOUR money. If someone gets hold of it, the impact to you is much higher (locked account/missing funds) and lingers longer than it would with a CC (typical turn around is 24 hours to get a new CC and carry on like nothing happened).
2. Rewards are always higher on a CC than DC.
3. Buyer protection is higher on a CC than DC, including benefits like extended warranties, sometimes price protection, etc.
4. You build up a credit history using a CC, not a DC.
The real question is, if you know your budget and monitor your spending, what is the benefit to using a Debit Card?
And the least sensical part of your statement: "If I can't afford a purchase, I don't need it" implies credit cards are ONLY for buying things you can't afford.  |
Again, my situation is a personal thing that I understand. I know that if I have a credit card, I'll carry a debt with it and spend more than is necessary. I've done it in the past and got in a large debt. So, it's an understanding that the benefits of a credit card would probably be negligible for my situation. The rewards, though very convenient to have, are also negligible. My bills are paid through automatic draft off my bank account. Any expenditure beyond that is minimal. I've paid off my car, bike, and loans (except student loans). I've budgeted everything around being a "poor" college student for the next two years to afford me the opportunity of not having to work and being a full time student. A credit card is a variable that could potentially throw that off, so it's not benefitial for my situation. That will most likely change when I'm out of school and making real money again, but that'll be an adjustment made when necessary.