Do you use a credit card for purchases less than FIVE dollars?

[msatty99]

If so, You are definitely on Msatty99's shit list.

What ARE you thinking???????

You probably stand in line at convience stores buying 'your special lottery numbers'
dollar by dollar...while the line behind you grows longer and longer....

GAWD!!!!!!!!

[miss_american_pie]

1. I debit everything

I never carry cash. And I don't buy lottery tickets. :hi:

[LynneSin]

11. Me too

:D

That way I can see how my money is spent

[maveric]

45. Me Three!

I avoid carrying cash.

[LostinVA]

48. Me too -- I keep about $5 on me for certain things, but everything else

is debit.

[Left Is Write]

2. Yes, I do.

And I guess I don't give a shit if I'm on your shit list.

What AM I thinking? I'm thinking I really like getting the cash-back benefits of using my card, and what's it to you?

[SOteric]

5. Plus, I have to point out the extreme conveninence

of having a detailed record of all of your purchases for budgeting purposes. If you can get your statement online you've already got electronic data you can crunch and plan your spending with.

[SofaKingLiberal]

3. .

:popcorn:

[eyesroll]

4. A lot of times it's faster to pay by card than by cash

Especially in places that don't require a signature (Walgreens and casual restaurants come to mind).


Now, people who write checks, for ANY amount, if they first take the checkbook out of their purse or pocket only after the clerk is done scanning their items, then act surprised when they're asked for ID, and then stand there balancing their checkbook while the rest of us wait, are on my shit list.

[Cathyclysmic]

6. I wanted a bagel for breakfast and I don't carry cash

For what it was worth, it was a debit card.

[Book Lover]

7. I was thinking, "Oh shit, I thought I had money in my wallet!"

And yes, I did spill the tub of beef jerky on purpose after I heard you sigh loudly for my benefit. :heh heh heh:

[Bridget Burke]

8. Yes.

My Debit card & my Amex both go through quickly. It's the modern world.

[Gormy Cuss]

9. No, and I don't use a debit card either.

Having to acquire cash at the ATM and then watch it flow out of my wallet is the best way for me to curb frivolous spending. The credit cards aren't used for retail purchases under $20 as a rule.

That's what works for me. I do know some people who find the painstaking detail of credit/debit statements to be useful tools. The marketing firms love that too.

[LynneSin]

13. I beg to differ

When I look at my bank statement (which I check religiously everyday online), I see exactly how my money is being spent. Cash doesn't leave a paper trail behind it unless you're good at keeping receipts

[Midlodemocrat]

18. .

:thumbsup:

[northzax]

26. and when I balance my statement

using software, I can see every penny I spent. I can find out, with the click of a button, how much I spent at Starbucks last year, or how much on eating out, groceries, etc. makes budgeting much easier.

[Gormy Cuss]

42. It works very well for me this way.

It helps that I am inherently cheap and always have been. To me knowing that I blow $20 on work lunches vs. $20 on cafe au lait is irrelevant because both are discretionary spending. As long as that $20 is within the discretionary money budget of course. I'd rather track one ATM transaction than a dozen debit transactions each week. I used to be compulsive about watching the spending at a microlevel (on paper, long before it was easy) and finally realized that the above system was just as effective for me and takes less time. The only reasons to check bank balances and credit cards in between statements is to watch for fraud or transactions not posting (which I do, but not daily.) I do use monthly statements to chart trends in household expense by category.

[anarch]

10. I might, if I had any credit left on my credit card

I don't have $5.00 x(

[RebelOne]

12. I use a debit card for all purchases.

Mainly because my bank rounds the purchases off to the nearest dollar and deposits the change in a savings account. I only use a credit card for on-line purchases.

[_testify_]

15. My bank does the same thing.

It's a great way to increase your savings without doing anything! :)

[Midlodemocrat]

16. Mine, too. Keep the Change is awesome.

[Midlodemocrat]

14. Never, ever carry cash.

And the rewards have sent my family to Maui, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas and Bermuda.

Can cash do that? No, I didn't think so.

Shit list here I come. Like I care.

:eyes:

[ALago1]

17. I love debit cards

Why? In addition to the reasons stated above, I also find that if I have cash in my wallet, it's gone faster than I can count it.

I'm much more restrained in my spending if I only carry debit.

[fishwax]

that's my experience too n/t

[Xithras]

19. I once used a debit card for a 30 cent purchase.

Yep, really! :)

I simply don't carry cash on me. Ever. I have a small stash at home for emergencies, but other than that I can't remember the last time I actually carried real money in my wallet.

It could be worse. My wife doesn't carry cash either, but doesn't like the debit card. She'll write CHECKS for amounts as small as 50 cents!

[MissB]

20. If it is a small retailer, I don't.

They likely have to pay a percentage fee on each transaction, plus a per-transaction charge.

[riona]

21. I use cash for small amounts,

debit for larger, credit card - rarely

[madmom]

22. Believe it or not I was at a home improvement store last week and

a guy in front of me used a credit card for 66 cents. I about lost it.

[grace0418]

23. I have a card that gives me airline miles for every dollar spent.

So you betchur booty I use it whenever I can. Then I pay it off every month. I've racked up enough miles to fly to Hawaii round trip. My goal is to fly to New Zealand, first class, all with frequent flier miles.

[Hong Kong Cavalier]

24. Yep. Don't carry much cash.

And I Don't care about your shit list.

I've managed to knock off $20 so far from my interest by using my CC (grace period)
and then I send them much, much more than I've spent each month.

I figure six more months and the card will be paid off.

And you usually can't buy lottery tickets with a credit card, either.

Deal.

[TheFriendlyAnarchist]

25. I don't mind using credit cards if I have no cash, but I don't like

how if you use a card, your position is automotically known and possibly recorded. Me being the paranoid tin-foil hat person I am, I try to avoid that.

[hfojvt]

27. when updating your list

do not forget the j. It is hfo-j-vt. Some people write hfovt and that is just some biological term. (although, now that I think of it, that would have been funnier - a transposition and a misspelling belying the inflated claim.)

[In_The_Wind]

28. no

[Droopy]

29. Nope

I just use my credit card for gas, prescriptions, cartons of cigarettes, and sometimes dinner. The lowest amount I charge is $15 with most of my credit card purchses being over $30.

[GalleryGod]

30. Never.

Keira, again.:applause:

[liontamer]

31. yes

and I don't spend time fumbling in my wallet looking for change, nor do I have to sit and wait for the cashier to count my money, count out change, so there is nothing for me to count before i put away my wallet.

Additionally, I have good records of almost all my purchases and enough frequent flier miles to satisfy my lust for travel despite my small income.

[newportdadde]

32. Yeah I do still its not as bad as someone writing a check.

Nothing like getting groceries and having to watch someone write they check then have it scanned and look at and have info written on then get out the drivers license etc. Just put the damn thing on your credit card and pay it off at the end of the month.

EDIT: I have a cash back credit card and tend to use it on almost everything, even telephone bills, medical bills, etc.

[scarlet_owl]

33. I don't carry cash. I use my bank card for everything.

[Taverner]

34. Yes

But In CA everyone already does that

I never carry cash

[NewJeffCT]

35. usually, but it depends on the store

If I'm at a local business, I try not to use a credit card if it's below $20 or so, as I know the credit card fees eat into their profit. If I have to run into Wal-Mart to buy chapstick, then I'd charge it... they can afford it.

Otherwise, always use the credit card. With my in-laws in China, we need all the air miles we can get to visit them for a reasonable price (we have about 110K miles right now...)

[Mojambo]

36. I frequently have people pay for a newspaper with a card.

Just scrape some damn change out of your car seats like everyone else!

[Burma Jones]

37. Nope

I don't like to use credit cards at restaurants because I can get on my way faster if I leave cash.

I always use the credit card for Gas because I get free Gas with my card.

I like to have cash on hand in case I get robbed, I don't want to disappoint.

I do think, though, that the more technologically advanced retailers are making it as fast, if not faster, to use a Credit Card as it is to use Cash.

And those of you still writing checks, wear a special hat so I can stay out of your line.......please......

[ALago1]

38. Where'd the OP go?

Too busy expanding their shit list?

[Maine-ah]

39. Oh, I hate it too

legally you can't have a minimum charge policy either. It may not make much difference to a large retailer (like wally world) but retailers have to pay a percentage to the credit card companies to accept your credit card. It really sucks for us small folks.

[Shell Beau]

40. What are you smoking?

:shrug:



Seriously, why do you even care? If I have cash, I'll spend it, if not, I'll use my debit card. It spends like cash, big freakin' deal!

[LSK]

41. No, I pay cash for everything that i can pay cash for

[msatty99]

43. OK OK...I was a little HARSH...sorry

I actually got some good information as to why people are using their cards..so
I can be more patient (I hope).

Sorry for offending anyone...I think I was suffering at the time of the original post.

[seaglass]

44. I rarely use my debit card for purchases under $10 and my

credit card is reserved only for things I can't afford:(

If I know I'll be going to Starbucks, unless I'm getting a pound of coffee, I stop at the bank and get cash.:-)

[ForrestGump]

46. I used to mostly use credit cards

when I had them, and then a debit card -- the debit card seemed the best of both worlds. Hardly ever carried cash, at least inside the US (out in the boonies, overseas, was a differnt story, though on one island I had a lot of money stolen), and got used to it.

Lately my occupation has been generating a lot of cash and I've switched to using cash in my daily expenditures more and more. For one thing, these days I don't like to put too much money in my bank account and tend to deposit just enough cash to cover things for a month. I have always believed that cash is too easy to just 'evaporate' with no trace, but the truth is that (since my Quicken went wacky on me over a year ago) I've stopped keeping good track of my debit-card spending, anyway, so there's not a lot of difference and I do keep every receipt for every single thing I buy.

I kind of like being a cash economy, though the debit card comes in handy at gas stations and for eBay and other mail order, etc, and I write a check each month for my rent and have other bills paid electronically from my account. I figure that anything that keeps me that much more distant from Big Brother is a good thing. And, yes, nowadays cash can be more of a hassle to pay with than is plastic.

[NMDemDist2]

47. i try not to use my debit card at all except at the gas pumps

if i don't have cash, i don't go shopping, or I go get some cash

i find i spend less money that way if i leave the house with a list of what i need and a specific amount of money. I make it a game to see how much $$$ I can bring back from shopping

:evilgrin:

[bridgit]

49. no...

[salin]

50. Only if the twenty

I thought I stuck in the wallet, I stuck somewhere else... and realize that it would be longer to deal with voiding out, than it would be for charging... while I know that I pay extra fees, for such a small purchase, and hope it will remind me to look before I pull something off the shelf. Very rare, but I have done it.

Never done the 'special lottery numbers' thing. :shrug: