am i weird? i must be the only person on earth w/o...

[gemgirl]

I thought everyone used a debit card! I don't even know how to get cash out at the bank without it to be honest. I heard someone talk about making a check out to cash, but I don't get that concept. I guess I'm of the ATM generation.

I thought everyone had a debit card too. If you have a checking account, you have a debit card.

I never pay cash for anything except for maybe gas and a couple of other weekly incidentals, nor do I stand there wasting time (and watching the evil eye come my way) writing checks while on line in supermarkets, department stores etc. Debit cards make life easy, as long as you never lose a receipt. My bank doesn't charge anything for the use of debit cards. Not for purchases or at the ATM (which I almost never use).

 

[yssie]

I don't have a credit card, just a Visa branded ATM one.

Me too - well, I have one cc, but I can count the number of times I've used it on two hands. All purchases made w/ cash/debit, all monthly auto-billing done w/ the debit.


DH uses his ff miles cc for pretty much everything, and all big joint purchases go on that account, but we never buy what we couldn't in cash.

 

[Imdanny]

I used to have a joke about my father. It went something like this: "I don't have a credit card!... but my wife does."

Personally I have neither a credit card nor a debit card.

I can debit money with a bank card but it isn't the same thing.

I think credit cards with their ridiculous fees and interest rates up to 30% are the work of the Devil.

 

[sirbenson]

The only people I know who don't have debit cards are my grandmothers

I used to use my debit card all the time but now try to use my credit card for everything so that I get the reward points. I figure if I have to buy the item why not pay with the credit card instead and get some points out of it and then I'll be paying the credit card bill from my bank account anyway. I guess for some with smaller budgets or those who carry balances on their credit cards, a debit card could cause one to overspend.

But I do wonder why people still pay for things in cash anymore (i.e. things that cost lets say more than $20). I would find it very inconvenient to go to the bank every time I needed money. Since I never know when I'm gonna wanna buy something oh a whim, I could never plan ahead enough and have the cash on hand. And again, I'd lose out on the points. I do agree that CC interest rates are terrible but I don't carry a balance so I don't get dinged by that. I don't really know why people use their credit cards to buy things that they can't pay off and then get hit with the interest rates. If you can't go to the bank and take that amount out of your account and not be broke, don't charge it to your CC either. You're probably better off taking out a line of credit.

The other benefit to using my credit card is that some type of fraud happens to it, the CC company is out the money, not my bank account. Also, I get extended warranties by using my credit card.

I do find the debit card very handy while travelling, like another poster mentioned. I do find that the exchange rate depends on the country you are in. While in Thailand the best rate was from the ATM but in Indonesia you get the best rate exchanging cash, for example.

Oh, and to the person who didn't know what a "cheque to cash" is....its when you write a cheque and use "CASH" in the "pay to" blank. The bad part with doing this is that if the cheque is lost it can be cashed by anyone who finds it.

 

[Cehrabehra]

Yes DF, you're weird. I even have a chinese one.

 

[waterlilly]

my parents don't have debit cards either. they actually go to the bank, stand in line and withdraw money - so archaic

i keep trying to tell them how unbelievably more convenient life becomes when you have a debit card, but i think they associate it with a credit card so don't want one.

i don't even remember the last time i was inside a bank - i think it was for my car loan a few years ago...and i'm pretty sure i don't own checks, if i do - i have no clue where they are...

my debit has no purchase transaction fees...