Cash or Credit?

Since the 1970's people have been saying that cash is dead and plastic will live on forever. Well, its into the new millenium now and cash is still around. It is not used as much as plastic, of course, but it's still here.

when people use cash for their purchases, they can feel better about the fact that there will be no interest to pay and that they can't spend more than they've got. Cash might be sleeping for awhile, but it's not completely gone. Will it be gone in the future? Who knows. I have a feeling it will stay with us forever.

Credit cards have been around for many years now and they have gained quite a following. Credit cards are the fast and easy way to purchase every type of item, from candy to cars. With credit cards, people now have to the power to purchase items over the internet or from another part of the country or world by using the telephone. They can also spend more than they can afford-that's where one of the major cons of using a credit card opposed to cash comes in. The second major con is interest. Interest can pile up on a credit card so much that it's almost impossible to pay the credit card off. The trick is simply to not spend more than you can afford and pay the credit card off as soon as possible to avoid that creeping interest charges.

Debit cards have come on the scene. They will enable the buyer to acheive that item without any interest at all. Most financial institutions will let a debit card be used without any fees what-so-ever. The upside to using a debit card is that the user won't spend more than they can afford because they know the debit card comes straight out of their bank account. Sometimes they may overspend, if they do not keep an eye on their budget. This will pile some overdraft charges onto their bill from the bank, buy once this happens one time, you can bet the debit card user doesn't let it happen again!

Credit cards are very useful and so are debit cards, but they both pose a problem over cash. Identity theft. With cash you dont have to worry about giving out any personal information about yourself, but with credit and debit cards you do. If you credit or debit card gets stolen you can find yourself in lots of financial trouble. If a theif gets hold of your debit card they can and will take everything out of your bank account. If a theif gets hold of your credit card they can max it out, leaving the card holder with the bill. Luckily credit card companies have come to their senses by offering cardholders security against fraudulant sellers or credit card theft. They will not hold the cardholder responsible if the cardholder reports the problem soon. If the cardholder waits to long, they could be held liable.

Is cash dead? Nope. It will be around for a long, long time. But using plastic is still faster and more convenient.